wonder
by littlehoneybear
Summary: "Wonder is the heaviest element on the periodic table. Even a tiny fleck of it stops time." In which a certain kunoichi joins ANBU and comes crashing into quite a few startling realizations along the way. Non-massacre AU. Kakasaku.
1. leaning on the side of wonder

Hello, this isn't my first story that I've published ever, but it is the first on this account. Well, as a disclaimer, I do not own any rights to Masashi Kishimoto's Naruto.

* * *

Sakura Haruno had become a wonderful kunoichi. She was confident in her ability to perform and she was revered by many as one of the strongest shinobi of her generation. It was flattering to know that she had come so far since her days as a lowly genin. She finally felt worthy of being called a ninja. After being assigned to Hatake Kakashi's team, she was both excited and wary. Her priorities as a young girl had been skewed. For a long time, Sasuke had represented all that she yearned for. She wanted someone to love, someone to care for, and someone to love her back. The insecurities she felt as she grew older had only intensified these feelings until she became fixated on Sasuke as an outlet for them. She had never dreamed that she would have been on his team and when it happened, she thought that the universe was finally giving her what she had always wanted.

She should have known better than that.

Sasuke had never really been a real love interest when she looked back on it. He was just a fixation for her, and she had really only liked him for his outward appearance. She hadn't known about his devotion to his family, or the way he still looked forward to his brother arriving home from a mission, or the way he worked so hard to make his brother proud. He had simply been a cool, attractive boy. She had liked him based on superficial aspects and it was a bit embarrassing to think about.

She still loved him, but not in the way she had before. Or at least in the way she had convinced herself that she loved him. He was one of her best friends and he felt like a brother to her. After spending such a large chunk of her life neglecting her training in order to pursue the Uchiha, she had finally snapped out of it when Sasuke left with Kakashi to train for two years. Sasuke had pushed beyond his limitations in order to become stronger. Although one of the brightest of his age, he was nowhere near the genius that Itachi had been. He had to work much harder to become strong. The pressures of his family and the desire to make his brother proud had motivated him in his goal. He wanted to become as strong as he could.

Naruto was a great rival for him. Sakura understood that her presence had been an annoyance because she simply did not care about becoming stronger. She had only wanted him and he had no reason to spend any time on her because she was weak. He had never really hated her, however. He had always seen the dedication she had to him and had secretly appreciated the amount of faith she had always placed in him when he was constantly facing being a disappointment to his family.

During the Chunin exams, only Sasuke and Shikamaru had passed. Sasuke had been relieved that he wouldn't have to tell his family that he hadn't made it. Itachi had graduated from the academy at seven, mastered the sharingan when he was eight, passed the Chunin exams when he was ten, and became ANBU at eleven. Sasuke had only just became a Chunin and he was almost thirteen. When Itachi was thirteen, he was made an ANBU captain. He had a lot to live up to. Naruto was disappointed at not becoming a Chunin, but Sakura had expected her own failure.

That was the start of her changing her mentality. When she cut her hair, she sacrificed something that she thought would make Sasuke happy in order to defend her team. It was a small step, but it was progress.

Eventually they left her. Sasuke left to train with Kakashi and Naruto left to train with Jiraiya. That was when she really saw what she had been doing with her life. She did not resent the neglect that Kakashi had placed on her training. Even if he had put as much effort into her training as she had with Naruto and Sasuke's, it would have made no difference. She had not cared about that. When they left, she finally saw herself as others saw her. She was a mess. She was blindly following a boy instead of becoming a girl that boys would follow willingly. Instead of working on herself, she was trying to improve her life through others.

She had decided that she didn't want to live that way.

She found her way to Tsunade and she had never looked back. It was hard work training under the lady, but Sakura was bright and she wanted this. She didn't want to be left behind anymore. She wanted to become a real member of Team Seven.

"Hey, forehead!"

Sakura groaned. She had just gotten off a rather gruelling shift at the hospital and wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed and sleep. Her long time friend, however, had other plans.

"Pig, I'm tired."

Ino had gained even more confidence as they had gotten older, even if it seemed impossible to do so. "Sakuraaaa, you promised that we would go shopping today. It's only three in the afternoon for Christ's sake. How can you be tired?"

Sakura sent her a glare. "Unlike you, I've been working for the past forty eight hours. We had three genin teams come in within the span of two days. My chakra is so low that I'm probably suffering from chakra depletion. So, pig, I am tired."

Ino sent her a sly smile. "Oh shut up, forehead. You wouldn't be sassing me now if you were that tired. Come on, we'll stop at that cute little coffee shop on the way there."

Sakura sighed. There was no winning against the busty blonde that she called her best friend. Ino hooked her arm around Sakura's, dragging her off towards the newest addition to the civilian's district. A man named Haruma had recently bought an old house and renovated it, creating a chic little café that the females of Konoha had immediately taken to. Ino had been begging Sakura to go with her all week. As they wandered through the streets of Konoha, Sakura finally had time to relax. She hadn't been lying when she was complaining to Ino about how exhausted she was. She felt like it was oozing out of her pores. Surely she had gigantic bags under her eyes. The people around her were probably wondering who had let the hideous monster out of the dungeons beneath Konoha.

She was greeted warmly as she passed by the many faces of Konoha. Ino was busy complaining about the drama in her life and how she had slept with a skeazy man the other night that would not leave her alone and now it was biting her in the ass.

"I hope you were safe, Ino-pig, everybody knows that Kosei is riddled with STDs. I swear to god, if you get chlamydia, I am not getting rid of it for you." At this, Ino scowled.

"I'm always safe, forehead. Like you would know anything about that, you virgin." At Ino's loud interjection, Sakura felt her face heat up.

"Ino! Not so loud!"

Ino simply grinned, eyeing up the civilian men that quickly turned their heads away, shy at the mention of a woman's virginity, especially one as pretty as Sakura. Sakura may have been modest, but her looks were not. She was under the same impression that she was still the gawky little girl with the huge forehead. She had grown her out out again, and her body had filled out in a way that had even Tenten envious. Tenten had remained tall and lanky, her body not quite changing as much as she would have liked. Ino had filled out more so than any of them. She often complained of the troubles of wrapping her breasts, but could not compare to Tsunade's rather endowed pair. Ino often described Sakura's as a pair of oranges on a good day, apples on a bad day. To this, Sakura always rolled her eyes, but did not argue Ino's method of measurement. Ino had a knack with guessing bra sizes, something Sakura guessed was due to her odd fruit comparisons.

Sakura had her fair share of admirers, but most men did not notice her. She tended to hide behind comfy clothes. Sakura had very quickly decided that she did not want to act like she had as a child. Instead of wearing skin-tight clothing and dresses, lately she had opted for clothes that hid her rather fit figure. She had stopped herself from getting into the fad of makeup when it had started to find itself into the lives of her friends. When she had finally decided to change who she was, she went all out. Although her friends would never admit it to her face, they all thought that Sakura had gone a little too far with distancing herself from worrying about her appearance. Not that she looked bad without makeup, for she had a distinctly pretty face, but they thought it was a shame that she only dressed up on special occasions.

When they reached Touka Café, Sakura's eyebrows rose in mild shock. The place was far nicer than she had originally pictured it. Haruma had definitely put a lot of work into it. The exterior was done up with a soft sand-coloured brick, the windows trimmed with a cute light blue trim. Flower boxes framed the renovated house, lighting up the place with colourful pansies and daffodils. Through huge bay windows, it was easy to see that the inside was just as quaint as the outside.

"No wonder even everyone can't stop talking about this…" Sakura murmured, instantly impressed at the effort put into the place.

"After some tea―or better yet, coffee for your tired ass―we'll go shopping! Forehead, I've been dying to get you into that new lingerie store. Maybe you'll actually find someone to pop your cherry if you start wearing some."

"Shut up, Ino-pig!" Sakura giggled, allowing Ino to pull her into the café. They sat down at one of the few free tables, quickly scouting the place for anyone that they knew. Most of their friends were off on missions, meeting their expectations when they saw only civilians littering the room. A young woman in a cute yukata came by to get their orders and the two kunoichi shared guilty looks when they ordered extra sugary lattes and a slice of strawberry shortcake each.

"So, Sakura, I heard you were considering joining ANBU." Ino grinned, dipping her fork into the generous slice of cake.

Sakura sighed. "I'm a bit torn, to be completely honest. They need me at the hospital, or at least I'd like to think they do, but I've been dreaming of this forever. Tsunade has been egging me on to challenge the exam. And, you know, Sasuke and Naruto are both signed up for it. I really want to stick with my boys."

"Kakashi is back in ANBU again, isn't he? So you, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sai, right?" Ino paused. "But there needs to be a Captain… so one of you guys won't be on the same team."

Sakura froze. She hadn't thought of that. "Oh, fuck. I guess so. With my luck, it'll be me." She laughed, taking the news much better than Ino had thought she would.

"Oh, well. I hear there are a couple of openings in some really good teams." Ino said hopefully.

"I was really looking forward to being with my boys… Maybe I'll stay at the hospital."

Sakura was put out despite her earlier laughter. She had assumed that Team Seven would always be together. With Kakashi having left them six months prior in order to serve as an ANBU operative once more, they had resorted to sticking together even more so.

"Don't you dare, forehead. C'mon, let's get going. You're starting to depress me."

* * *

Kakashi woke up late most days, especially after long, gruelling missions. When Uchiha Itachi's team had an opening, they had specifically requested that he come back into service and fill it. Kakashi had tried making the excuse that he still had a team to look after, but they had pointed out that his team was grown and eligible for ANBU themselves. Kakashi had sighed, mulled over it a bit, and then agreed. It was a tremendous honour that they had requested him. Although, looking back on it, he was the most qualified person that they had. Itachi's team was the highest performing squad on the village's roster. Made of ANBU Captain Uchiha Itachi and Shiranui Genma, the team was sent out on some of the most difficult missions. With Hatake Kakashi thrown into the mix, they were lethal. Kakashi felt bad for the fourth member of the team, however. It was well known that team Uchiha had a bad luck streak; their fourth member had never last for more than a month with them. Right now they had no fourth member and were seriously considering keeping it that way. They functioned far better than most ANBU teams with only three people, and the fourth was usually so far beneath them that they ruined the cohesiveness of the team.

Kakashi had a feeling that one of his students might succeed in filling the position. Ultimately, it was up to Itachi. Although a quiet, reserved man, Kakashi knew that it was getting to him. Itachi was getting frustrated at the deaths of the shinobi that had attempted to fill the position. Quite a few had been low-level Uchihas and Hyuugas. It was tough knowing that any person that joined the team was likely to die on their first or second mission.

Kakashi sighed and sat up, stretching. He groaned as his sinewy muscles flexed and resisted the motion. His back cracked and he pulled himself out of his bed, wearing only a pair of black boxers. Stumbling to his shower, he combed a hand through his unruly silver hair. He quite liked being at home. He was free to walk around maskless. Only his ANBU teammates knew where he lived, so he was at no risk of being disturbed by his annoying students.

He did miss going on missions with them. He missed Naruto's overzealousness, Sasuke's tendency to act like he had a stick up his butt, and Sakura's fiery attitude. It always amazed him to think about the difference between the Sakura of the past and the Sakura of the present. She was such a strong, confident kunoichi. And she had grown up. Naruto and Sasuke would always be the little twelve year old boys that he loved, but Sakura had really changed. For one, her body had matured. Sakura had taken to wearing looser clothing so he was entirely unaware of how much, but she was definitely not the same little girl. And on the other hand, she had gotten so strong. Kakashi loved sparring with Sakura because she presented a challenge more so than Naruto or Sasuke. Kakashi knew them inside out but because he had missed so much of Sakura's training, and she was so smart herself, she always managed to give him trouble.

It was refreshing.

He smiled against the hot water streaming down his face. His favourite part of being home was showering. With his hand, he eased his stiff, sore muscles into more relaxed versions of themselves. Their last mission had been terrible. In the Land of Rain for two weeks, constantly cold and moving, it was really done a number on his muscles.

Toweling off his hair, he slipped into his standard outfit. A longsleeve black shirt with an attached mask, along with his standard navy blue jonin pants, he slid his hitai-ate down over his sharingan. Slipping his feet into the standard open-toed shoes that all shinobi wore, he opened his door and headed out.

He had nothing in particular to do, he simply wanted to get out for a bit. This wasn't entirely out of the ordinary. Considering that he was normally a shut in, he liked to wander around the village from time to time just to get some fresh air. After their last few missions being so arduous, Tsunade had ordered them to take some time off. There were other teams that could handle their workload collectively.

Kakashi, being the pervert he was, enjoyed passing by the lingerie store from time to time. He made it his habit to take the particular route passing it whenever he wanted to stroll through the village. The store always reminded him of his various encounters with women, and it always served to cheer him up whenever he saw a piece that he had particularly enjoyed on one of the women that he had had the pleasure of sleeping with.

Although his former students did not know this, Kakashi was something of a skank. He slept around quite a bit, but he always stuck to civilian women. He had no intention of becoming romantically involved with someone he knew.

Kakashi was always thinking of the future.

Kakashi was not expecting, however, to see his young, innocent student in the store. His first instinct should have been to keep walking, but Kakashi was curious. He wanted to bash himself in the face just for thinking about it, but he wasn't going to try to deny that he was, indeed, wondering what kind of underwear his student was shopping for. Ignoring the fact that he was now blatantly standing outside the store looking in, he observed that the pink haired female was with Ino.

 _Ah, that explains it._

Turning to walk again, he caught a flash of red and stopped. Ino had just handed a rather intricate set of material to a blushing Sakura. It made Kakashi want to laugh just seeing the matching shade on her face. Sakura gingerly accepted the material and held it up to her face to inspect it. Or rather, to inspect what it was missing. Ino pushed her to the back of the store, making Kakashi squint just to see what was going on. Sakura disappeared behind a door for a few moments, then reappeared. Kakashi found himself the one being embarrassed as he looked on in astonishment.

 _Oh no. She didn't._

Although she was at the back of the store, Kakashi could see that she had changed into the skimpy red outfit. He realized with a start that she did, indeed, have curves, and that she had somehow managed to hide them in the years since she had hit puberty. Being so far away, however, he couldn't see much more than a confirmation of her body.

He was so lost in thought that he missed, for a split second, Sakura looking up and out the window. When he clued in, he saw her face turn scarlet and her eyes widen. At this sudden turn in events, he promptly disappeared. Hopefully she would think that she imagined something.

* * *

Sakura couldn't believe what had just happened. Kakashi had seen her in just her underwear. And not just any underwear. He saw her in the least modest underwear she had ever worn. She was mortified. She reluctantly allowed Ino to convince her to spend way more than she had wanted on three sets of bras and panties, and even more so purchased the red ensemble that Kakashi had spotted her in.

"Now we need to stop by a clothing store and get you something to wear besides those sweats and joggers of yours. You've even been training in loose clothing. You're getting a new wardrobe today." Ino rambled on, ignoring Sakura's dazed look.

"But―"

"No buts, Sakura. I'm serious. All of Konoha is sick and tired of your lack of effort. What's the point of going to see a doctor if she isn't hot as fuck?" Ino slyly smiled, pressing her cleavage together with her arms.

Sakura rolled her eyes in exasperation, already beginning to forget the incident between her and her ex-sensei. "Because they need medical attention?"

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto's blonde head popped up as he gave her a big hug, swinging her around. Sakura laughed, begging him to let her go.

When he finally set her down, he grinned and pointed to Sasuke with his thumb. "Me and the teme are going to Ichiraku's, wanna come?"

As Sakura began to accept, Ino pulled her away. "No way, Naruto. Sakura is coming with me. I am forcing her to redo her wardrobe because she is embarrassing to be around."

"Ino-pig!"

"It's true, you loser."

Sakura sighed. She'd been doing a lot of that recently. "I'm going to have no money after this."

Naruto interjected excitedly. "The ANBU exams are being held at the end of this month! Don't worry, Sakura-chan, your pay will go up when you pass!"

Sakura didn't have time to reply before Ino began to drag her down the street, cheerily calling out goodbyes to the two shinobi that were left behind.

When Sakura flopped down on her bed at seven o'clock that night, she didn't wake up for another sixteen hours.

* * *

Well, that's it for now. I really enjoyed writing this. Not sure when the next chapter will be out, but please tell me what you think. I didn't want Kakashi and Sakura to start off as immediately liking each other. Otherwise, I think it would be a bit creepy. It implies that Kakashi has always seen Sakura that way and ew. So yeah.

Thank you!


	2. bracing from the impact of wonder

I am so, so, so, sooooo sorry about the wait. This chapter was almost completely done about a day after I published the first chapter but I got so caught up with exams and I really just didn't get around to finishing it. On the bright side I now have a couple more days of March break to try and write one more chapter.

* * *

When Sakura woke up, she felt refreshed and ready to take on the world. She groaned, however, when she thought about how much damage Ino had done to her pocket. Before Ino had left her to sleep, she had taken an iron fist to Sakura's closet, throwing out almost all of the clothes that she owned.

Sakura's stomach growled, alerting her that she hadn't eaten since the café. She groaned, rolling out of bed, clutching her stomach in pain. She was used to these stomach pains, however, due to the nature of her work. At the hospital, she sometimes went an entire shift without consuming more than coffee. Tsunade always scolded her, but sometimes she couldn't help it. With devoting her time between helping the civilian doctors and the shinobi she was treating, she often was so busy that she forgot about herself.

Whipping up some rice and scrambled eggs, Sakura sank into her couch and ate. She ended up eating two plates of food before she realized how long she had slept. It was now one in the afternoon and she was glad that she had nothing to do that day. Dragging herself up, finally full, she stumbled her way to the bathroom of her cozy little apartment. It had a small bedroom and living room, but it made up for that with its bathroom and kitchen. When Sakura was home, she dearly loved to cook. The kitchen was one of the selling points of the entire place. The bathroom was pleasant as well. With both a standing shower and a bathtub, it made things lavishly convenient. Opting for a long shower, Sakura gingerly stepped out of the last pair of sweats she owned and into the warmth within the glass walls of her shower. Sakura lathered her body with sweet smelling cucumber body wash, opting for a peach blossom shampoo and conditioner. She ran her fingers through her long, pink tresses, instantly at ease.

Sakura dearly loved to shower. But showering led to thinking, and thinking led to the rather unfortunate incident of the day before. She felt her face flush when she thought of the very moment where she met his gaze with her own. Of course the biggest pervert in the village would have been gazing into the shop.

Sakura just hoped that she could look him in the eye after this.

The more she thought about it, the more she became angered at the entire thing. She needed to release it somehow. She climbed out of the shower, toweling her hair dry. As she stood in her bathroom, she stared at her reflection in the full length mirror. Her eyes travelled from her damp hair down to her protruding collarbones, weeping past her full, perky breasts and over the flat expanse of her taut stomach. She sighed, wrapping her hair up in a towel on her head. She pulled another from the towel rack in the bathroom and dried off the rest of her body. Wrapping it around herself, she made her way into her bedroom, eyeing the bags littering the floor. Ino must have made her spend a month's rent on clothing the day before.

She spotted one of the bags they had acquired at the shinobi clothing store and reluctantly went through it. Pulling out a pair of navy blue spandex shorts and a long sleeved black shirt, she began to wrap her breasts. Ino could suck it if she thought that Sakura would wear a sport bra right away. Wrapping them up was just fine. She was going to ease into the outfit transition in her own time. Finding a simple white thong that Ino had allowed her to keep, she slipped her legs into it and pulled on the rest of the gear. She would go to the training grounds and work out for a little while and then see if she could find something else to do. Sakura was always so lost on her days off.

Closing her door and locking it, Sakura jumped onto the rooftop and began to jump from roof to roof, heading for her favourite training grounds. She figured that she would find someone else there to spar with, and if not, she could practice the skills she would need for the ANBU exams. If she ended up taking them…

But enough of that thought pattern.

Sakura loved to run. She loved each momentary pause of her foot on the ground, the contraction of her muscles as she pushed off and landed on the other foot, the way she sped past everyone with ease. She spent much of this run, however, mulling over the ANBU exams. She really wanted to join, but… She wanted to be on the same team as her best friends. Her boys were like brothers to her and she loved working with them. What would it be like working as a cohesive unit with others? She couldn't imagine it. Naruto's overeagerness, Sai's cluelessness, and Sasuke's grumpiness, how would missions go without them…

At last she arrived at one of the numerous training grounds. She had hoped that someone would have been there, but she was sadly disappointed. The wind rustled through the trees surrounding the small clearing. A tiny pond to her left reflected the cold grey sky of the afternoon, and there were no birds to be found.

"Ah, fuck, it's going to rain isn't it?" Sakura murmured. She had a nasty habit of talking to herself.

She knelt to the ground, stretching her legs and arms in various positions until she felt limber and ready to go. As she got up, she quickly made the handsigns necessary to form a few solid dummies out of the ground beneath her. Each posed differently, she leapt back to study them. Retrieving a set of senbon from her pouch, she whipped them at the targets with precision and speed. Memorizing the positions of the last few dummies, she closed her eyes and threw the remaining senbon. Leaping back to the dummies, she was satisfied that she had hit all the spots she was aiming for.

Tucking them back into her pouch, she paused, considering what to do next. Thinking of Kakashi, she decided that her monstrous strength needed some fine tuning. Feeling chakra flow into her limbs, she began to punch, kick, and throw everything she could find. It was truly a thing of beauty to see her destroy literally everything in sight. She danced around flying chunks of dirt and rock, leaping above the settling dust to grin at the mayhem she had caused. Sweat beaded her forehead and chest as she landed back on the now uneven ground.

Sakura began to practice the jutsu in her arsenal, save for one very special medical ninjutsu that she'd been working on. She hadn't told anyone about it and it could prove to be one of the most advanced medical ninjutsu ever created if she mastered it. Sakura still had some fine tuning, but it wasn't really relevant to her training for ANBU. It was more suited for clinical use. Her hands whipped through seals producing various elemental jutsu. Sakura had an earth and water affinity but she could perform a few high calibre jutsu of each element. Kakashi had always impressed upon them how important it was to be prepared for anything.

After spending the majority of her chakra, Sakura was thoroughly tired. Panting and sweaty, she was satisfied with her workout. Having a sparring partner would have been better, but she wasn't overly disappointed. She was ready to turn and leave when she caught a movement out of the corner of her eye. She turned and brought a kunai up in front of her face, a metallic ring sounding throughout the clearing. Sakura's eyes hardened as they made contact with a single crinkled one. It was Kakashi, grinning under his mask. He held a kunai nonchalantly in his hand, pressing against her own.

"You! You pervert!" Sakura growled, narrowing her eyes.

Kakashi simply continued to smile, leaping backwards as her other hand came flying towards his face. Kakashi was still a little weirded out by Sakura's obvious change in appearance, but he wasn't too concerned with what had happened. He knew, however, that Sakura was incredibly embarrassed by the ordeal.

"Yo." Kakashi's feet slid along the ground and, in a heartbeat, he leapt back into close quarters with Sakura. With his single kunai, he slashed and parried her blows, sweeping his leg along the ground in the hopes of knocking her over. Sakura, too wise for his tricks, saw it coming and jumped into the air, flipping over and diving towards his figure. Throwing her kunai, she continued to aim her body directly over his. Quickly deflecting the kunai with his own, Kakashi wondered what she was going to do now that she had thrown away her weapon.

"Suck it, sensei!" She grinned, extending her arm as she reached him. He automatically brought the blade up to block what was coming, but was genuinely shocked when he saw that she was using her hands as blades. Sakura had manipulated her chakra and concentrated it around her hands, sharpening it like she would with a chakra scalpel and using it to suppress the kunai he was wielding against her.

"Ne, Sakura-chan, when did you start doing that?" Kakashi inquired, genuinely curious. He knew that the technique was rarely practiced because it required such finesse and chakra control that many weren't capable of practically using it.

"Tsunade-sama gave me a few scrolls on it. She said she'd been meaning to show me herself but she's so busy, you know." She grinned, obviously proud of herself.

Kakashi was impressed. This would go over very well on her entry into ANBU, not to mention the fact that it was self taught.

"Well done, Sakura. You make your poor old sensei proud." Kakashi pretended to sniffle, genuinely laughing as she scowled and attempted to swipe at him with the blade.

Sakura almost paused at his laughter. It was so rarely genuine that she wanted to ask him what was so funny.

They continued to spar, Kakashi helping her test the boundaries of the new technique. Sakura pushed herself, sweat pouring out of her skin and her chest heaving as she focused on channeling her chakra into her hands. Kakashi found himself sweating as well as he tried to keep up with Sakura's speed and taijutsu. Since Sakura's discovery of the merits of super strength, she had focused a lot of her time into taijutsu. She was talented and had improved her speed a great deal in the last few years, something she was very proud of. Her soft spot for Lee had also gained her an opening for the impressive taijutsu teachings of Guy-sensei. Although incredibly tiring, it was incredibly enlightening as well.

Kakashi was faster, however, and Sakura was still feeling out the limits of the technique. She was hesitant at times and Kakashi used it to his advantage. Kakashi saw her falter on her last lunge and used it. He took a page out of her book and with a less than accurate chakra ladent stomp, he crushed the ground beneath her and caused her to stumble backwards.

Sakura saw this coming, and focused even more chakra into her hands, sharpening it on a molecular level. As he came flying towards her, her body still free falling backwards, she raised her hands in preparation. Just as he was upon her, black dots clouded her vision and a sudden onset of dizziness caused her to lose focus. The chakra in her hands faded away and she blacked out before she could figure out what had happened.

* * *

Kakashi had been just about to meet her with his kunai when he saw her falter. Her eyes had clouded over and the green chakra that had been glowing around her hands faded away to nothing. Unfortunately, Kakashi saw this just as his kunai made contact with her forearm, slicing the skin. He pulled back before too much damage was done, but not in time to avoid harming her at all. He reached out to catch her and cradled her unconscious body in his arms.

"Sakura? Wake up, Sakura." He murmured, concerned about his student. Although her now maimed arm was a concern, her lack of consciousness was the main priority. Kakashi took an educated guess and figured that it was chakra exhaustion, but he wasn't completely sure.

He was relieved when her face scrunched up and her eyes blinked open wearily. "Kakashi-sensei?" She groaned, holding her head.

"Yo." He slowly helped her into a standing position. He was almost completely supporting her limp figure, but her attempts to stand were a good sign.

"I think I should've called this off a little earlier." She sheepishly smiled, allowing Kakashi to guide her over to a shady spot under the nearest tree. He propped her gently against the tree and began to channel chakra into his hand.

"Sakura, you have to recognize your limits…" He scolded her, making sure that she was paying attention. "I could have seriously hurt you. You are not a child, you do not need your sensei to tell you when enough is enough. And now I have to heal your arm, which, I will warn you in advance, will not go very well. I can only do so much."

Sakura winced as his chakra met her skin, slowly knitting the wound on her forearm back together. "Sorry, sensei. I was just so into using the hand blades… I overused my chakra at my last shift at the hospital and I think I just haven't fully recovered from it." She hung her head in shame, hoping that he wasn't too angry with her.

He seemed to be ignoring this, however. "Ah, that's as much as I can do. When you're feeling better you can heal the rest yourself. Just be more careful, Sakura. You really scared me for a minute." He slowly bandaged the wound and tied it off, eye crinkling in a smile as he ruffled her hair.

"Sorry, sensei."

Wrapping his arm around her waist, he guided her into a standing position. Turning around, he crouched low to the ground and made a hand gesture for her to climb onto his back. "C'mon, Sakura, I'll take you home."

"Sensei, you don't have to―"

"Shh, Sakura, just get on. No need to make a fuss about it." At this, she reluctantly climbed on his back, allowing him to hook his arms under her knees.

"Now, where do you live?"

"Mmm, do you know where Ino lives?"

"No."

"Oh. Um, do you know where that cute new café is?"

"Yeah, yeah. It's around there?"

"Hai, sensei, it's a few blocks away."

Sakura allowed her chin to rest on her sensei's shoulder, watching his silver hair bounce as he jumped out of the clearing. He continued to run, wind blowing his already wildly messy hair into a truly awful mess. He felt Sakura relax into him, obviously exhausted. Smiling, he continued until he made it to the edge of the village. He ran along the rooftops of Konoha until he reached the café she had mentioned. He turned his head to find her asleep on his shoulder. Her soft, pink eyelashes brushed against her cheek, her lips parted as she breathed slowly. Nudging her gently, he coaxed her eyes open. She groaned, blinking a few times in confusion.

"Where do we go from here?" He asked.

Sakura's head rose as she looked around. "It's uh," she yawned, "uh, a couple blocks that way. The white apartment building." Kakashi chuckled, trudging his way along the street to the white building just ahead.

Sakura's soft snores told him that once again, she was asleep.

Oh, well.

Once he reached the building, it wasn't hard to find her unit. With his enhanced nostrils, he was able to pick up her scent and follow its trail up to one of the windowsills of the third floor. It seemed that she was also in the habit of using her window as a door. Not that there were many shinobi who didn't practice this strange habit. Nudging the window open, he pulled them through the window carefully. Looking around, he was impressed at the state of the place. With how busy she was, it was incredible that she had the time to clean it at all. Most shinobi liked to consider themselves busy but Sakura was truly a marvel to behold in that department. Save for his unit in ANBU, there wasn't a single shinobi that he considered as busy as Sakura. _Well,_ he mused, _Tsunade might have her beat._ Carrying her to her room, the only bedroom he could see in the place, he laid her carefully on the bed, stepping around the numerous shopping bags.

"Oh, so that's where the new clothes came from."

Tucking her in, Kakashi stopped for a moment to watch the sleeping face of his former student. It was only in rare moments that she looked this innocent and peaceful. Her long, pale hair fanned around her head as her lips parted with each passing breath. Kakashi missed his students but it was only fair that they had to move on eventually. He did enjoy catching a glimpse of his students with their guards down, something that continued to happen less and less as they got older.

"G'night Kaka-sensei…" she murmured.

Kakashi smiled as he whispered back, "Goodnight, Sakura-chan."

* * *

It was a long walk back to his place but he was glad that he had accompanied her home. Sakura was obviously exhausted. Kakashi couldn't remember the last time they had sparred like that. Since he had joined Itachi's squad, he spent most of his time either on missions, training, or recovering. His apartment had become the squad's place to hangout so more often than not, he found himself sharing it with Genma and Itachi. In the short time they had been together, they had grown quite close. Kakashi even considered them his best friends of sorts, which was a weird thing to think about as he was in his thirties. They'd grown on him. Itachi, with his antisocial behaviour and how closely he related to Kakashi's own life. Genma, with his witty humour and love of women. They'd gone on some incredibly dangerous missions together which had only brought them closer. Since the loss of Itachi's best friend, Shisui, they had finally accepted him as a suitable replacement.

Kakashi found that he really enjoyed working with them. During their recovery periods in the village, they would spend their time at his place, drinking and spending time together. Occasionally, they avoided each other when one of them brought a girl. Kakashi had three bedrooms in his apartment, and although he found it distasteful for Genma to sleep with girls in _his_ apartment, he didn't care enough to tell him to stop. Kakashi often brought home girls when they were there, so it was only fair.

It was close to dinnertime as he passed through the village, keenly aware of how hungry he was. Stopping by Ichiraku's, he acquired enough ramen to satiate the hunger of three grown men. He trudged through the streets, bag in one hand and his small, orange book in the other.

As he reached his apartment, he smelled the other two inhabitants already there. Climbing through the window, he raised one hand in a salute and smiled under his mask.

"Yo."

"Kakashi!" Genma cheered, having obviously spotted the food. "You are one great guy, Kakashi. What would we do without you?"

"Thank you, Kakashi-san." It was a big step for Itachi to call anyone by their first name.

As they sat around eating in silence, Genma paused and turned to Kakashi.

"So, Tsunade-sama said we're getting one of the new recruits when the exams are done."

Kakashi groaned. "I hate to admit it, but I hope we get one of my students. At least I know they won't die on us. They're far too stubborn for that."

Laughing, Genma raised his glass of sake and clinked it against Kakashi's.

"Cheers to that!"

* * *

I am once again so sorry for the wait. Not too much happened this chapter but oh well (maybe that's why it took so long to write). Thank you to the people who have reviewed, favourited, and followed!


	3. dreams of wonder

Hey guys, sorry for the wait! I have been stuck on this chapter for so long but I finally pushed through it. Luckily, I have up until chapter nine planned out so update speeds should improve. But on the other hand, I have exams and graduation soon so that may impede the updates. Oh well. Thanks for holding out.

Just a warning, some slight lemon at the beginning, but very short and not much detail. I didn't want to go full out in the third chapter.

* * *

Kakashi groaned. His hands grasped at an expanse of smooth, pale skin as he shuddered in pleasure. Long, brown hair pooled over an arched back as he thrusted deeply into the woman on all fours in his bed. She moaned in pleasure as his cock rammed repeatedly into her, tightening around his shaft. Kakashi bit his lip as he continued, waiting for the woman to climax before allowing himself some release. He found his hands wandering to grope her soft ass in his large, rough palms, the sound of her moans and the slapping of his body against hers filling the air. At last, her moans became frantic and panicked, and Kakashi knew she was about to come.

Clenching around him, she screamed one last time as her muscles contracted in pleasure. Grunting, Kakashi pulled out of her and flipped her over, spilling himself all over her chest. She moaned in pleasure, her breath coming out in pants. Kakashi bent, briefly touching lips with the spent woman before removing himself from the bed, making his way to the door lazily. Fully relaxed, he opened the door and strolled the few paces down the hall to the bathroom that was luckily enough unoccupied. Opening the door, he slid into the shower and sighed as the hot water rained down on his body. He was tired but not any more so than usual and the shower served to energize himself.

Not to mention its rather satisfactory effect of cleaning himself of the sweat and other body fluids that came with sex. He was glad that it was far too early for Genma to be awake and far too late for Itachi to still be there. Genma was entirely punctual on missions, but was severely lacking in energy when it came to his personal life. Knowing him, Kakashi assumed that he was still curled up in bed with the busty blonde from last night, the one with the perky little nipples that just happened to harden as they left―Kakashi shook his head, working to ease his mind out of the dirty place he'd weaseled himself into.

Itachi was far less likely to bring a strange girl home, but he was not without his human desires. Quiet and reserved in his daily life, Itachi became quite foregoing after having a few drinks. With all the grace of a man that knew what he had to offer, he was quick to pick up on the most eligible prize at a bar and sweep her off her feet.

Kakashi had quite mastered this for himself. The three bachelors had a good arrangement. Kakashi was always quick to escort a lady out of his house in the morning and Genma was content to laze around until he had something better to do. Kakashi couldn't remember the last time he saw Itachi escorting a woman out so it spoke volumes about his morning after subtlety.

But there was something very important to do today.

And before he could take care of that, he had to take care of the very satisfied woman in his bed.

Dragging himself out of the shower, Kakashi grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist. He stumbled down the hall into the room he'd just recently vacated only to find that the girl in question had also recently vacated. This was good luck for Kakashi so he shrugged and riffled through his closet for a clean set of clothes. Opting for his traditional all-black set of clothes, he donned a pair of jonin pants and a long-sleeve black shirt with an attached mask.

Opening his window, he disappeared.

* * *

Sakura had a little secret. She had always berated her poor old sensei for it until she had gotten a little curious. She had never thought that it would reel her in the way it did, but she was in way over her head. Sometimes she trembled at the thought of it. Her skin flushed, her palms perspired.

She loved Jiraiya's Icha Icha series.

It was all her stupid sensei's fault. He'd been in a small coma-like state after a particularly rough mission and his little orange book had been sitting beside him, untouched. She had always wondered what had drawn him to the series so intensely and a little spark of desire to see what was so special had overcome her.

Two hours later, and she was a changed woman.

She had been outraged, upset, flustered, and horny all in that time period after reading one of the books. Due to her rather lacking experience with the opposite sex, it had also been a tiny bit enlightening as well. She knew how unrealistic it was to believe in the nonsense spouted by smutty novels, but it gave her a little hope in finding her own man to love.

They were truly remarkable novels. After finishing the other five in the series, she had longed to read another. But knowing that Jiraiya was dead, she despaired at never getting a glimpse at any new material ever again.

Kami-sama was punishing her for something, she knew it.

Until Naruto had breathed in a little hint of a rumour. Jiraiya had basically completed a draft of a seventh book, Icha Icha Master before he had died. Sakura had slapped Naruto, pretending to be outraged at the smut, but secretly she had been overjoyed. Naruto had whined that he was only telling her because the publisher had asked his permission to edit and publish the material. She had scoffed, but cheered on the inside of the new novel. And today was its debut.

Stretching her arms up, arching her back like a feline, she yawned. First a shower, she thought as she eyed the digital clock that clearly read 9 AM. The book store wouldn't be open for another half hour. Cleaning herself up, Sakura neatly pulled her long hair into a high ponytail and pulled on one of the civilian outfits that Ino had graced her closet with. It was a simple sundress in a soft yellow, decorated in pink and white petals. Slipping a pair of flats onto her dainty feet, Sakura exited through the front door, wary to use her chakra since the episode with Kakashi. A small, translucent scar ran along her arm where Kakashi had managed to do the best that he could at healing.

Perhaps he wasn't so bad at it.

Smiling broadly, she made her way through the village, heading for the small bookstore that would have the brand new copies of Icha Icha Master.

The bell above the door softly jingling, Sakura entered the store with a spring in her step. It was roughly 10 o'clock and she was sure that she would find her beloved book and have enough time to read it before she had a quick four hour shift at the hospital. Fukuma-san, the old shopkeeper, greeted her kindly as she made her way into the store. Seeing the bright pink "Icha Icha Master" lettering on a sign, she made her way to the adult section of the store. Her field of vision narrowed into a tunnel that stopped at the single purple copy of her book sitting on a bare table.

 _Only one copy left?!_ She bolted as she rushed to grab the last copy. Her hand collided with another's as she slammed rather forcefully into the display table. Using her free hand, she wrenched the other person's behind their back aggressively, a growl low in her throat.

"Back off!" She said, her voice as low and dangerous as she could manage.

In a second, her point of view shifted from looking down to staring at the book from the unique place of her face firmly pressed to the table. A tall body pressed her against the hard, visible grains of the wood, making her all too aware of her predicament.

"I was here first!" The distinctly male voice growled back as he reached to snatch the book off the table, roughly releasing her from the place he'd trapped her in.

Sakura sprang up, ready to punch him in the face until she came face to face with the man. It was Kakashi-sensei.

"Sakura?" He paused, his one visible eyebrow raised in shock.

"O-oh, must have the wrong book sensei, hehehe…" she mumbled, head ducked in embarrassment.

His composure regained, he leaned forward, a smirk visible beneath his mask.

"Over in the adult section, Sakura-chan? My, my, you are one lost student." His eye crinkled in visible mirth. "Some might think you were trying to snag a copy of a naughty book, Sakura."

Sakura scowled, and in a very low, quiet voice she shot back, "Yeah, well I was."

Kakashi paused, a small laugh escaping his mouth. "Switching up your reading material lately, hmm?"

"No, I'll have you know that I'm a big fan of Jiraiya-sama's work!" Gaining a little confidence, Sakura decided to defend herself. "And I have been for well over a year now!"

A nervous chuckle escaped Kakashi's lips. When was the last time he'd ever had a conversation with a student about dirty books? Never. That was the answer.

"Well, I cannot condone you reading such material, Sakura. As your sensei―"

"I'm too old for that, Kakashi!" She purposefully left out the usual -sensei honorific to make her point known. "We are equals and I have every right to read this, as much of a right as you do, as a matter of fact!"

Kakashi groaned. "Ne, ne, Sakura, fine. But you'll have to wait for a new shipment because this copy's _mine_."

Sakura screamed in frustration, flinging herself at the man that was withholding the precious reading material.

But sadly enough, Kakashi disappeared in a poof of smoke, his only trace left was a pile of money on the counter for the book he'd ungraciously commandeered.

"I'll _kill_ that man!"

And with that, Sakura stormed out of the store.

* * *

Kakashi was so excited to read his book that he could barely contain himself in the time it took for him to visit the memorial stone. He was sure that none of his friends cared to hear him gush about his expectations for the book, but he was so overwhelmed by the prospect that he had to cut his time with them short.

Kakashi was nothing if not a pervert, and a well-read one at that. While plot-wise, the novels could be lacking, they were written so well that Kakashi found himself completely absorbed in the romance and heated exchanges between his characters. Taking a break from the main characters of the other novels in the series, this novel centred around a young girl from the main character's village named Sachi. She was to become involved in a forbidden affair with an older man. Or at least that was what the summary told him.

Kakashi disappeared from the stone as he finished his final prayer, hurrying to get to his apartment so he could finally indulge himself.

Making his way into his bed, Kakashi relaxed against the headboard, propped some pillows behind his back, and promptly opened the first page.

It was shut as soon as he got through the first sentence.

" _Sachi was an exotic, delicate fruit, perky and ready to be plucked from the village just as one plucks a flower; with her soft, pink hair, the nurse resembled the beautiful cherry trees of the land._ "

Kakashi realized, with a dash of horror, that Jiraiya had based the main character after Sakura. How many other pink-haired medical professionals were there for him to base his newest heroine on? Kakashi was willing to bet that Sakura had been the newest piece he'd been researching before he'd been killed. She'd been sixteen, for Christ's sake!

Kakashi was furious. This was his student! No doubt it would ruin the rest of the book knowing that each carefully written scene was dreamt of with his own Sakura in mind.

But then again… Kakashi was curious. Had Jiraiya seen enough to have made it accurate? Shivers travelled down Kakashi's spine at the thought of it. He wasn't sure whether they were created out of excitement or disgust.

"Kakashi, you look unwell…" Itachi simpered from the doorway, leaning against its frame.

Itachi was, in his own way, a mother hen. As the leader of the team, he took careful consideration into each of the members and how they were faring. Of course, as his best friends, they ignited some concern out of his personal feelings. Itachi always knew when something was wrong and he was determined to figure out how to get to the bottom of it.

"O-oh, it's just, um… this book. It's quite scary…" Kakashi's ghost white face and widened eyes let Itachi know that there was something more to the story, but as Kakashi showed none of his telltale signs of lying, he decided to leave it.

"We are having lunch at Ichiraku's if you would like to join us." Itachi gestured to the door with a flick of his head, all calm and composed.

Kakashi did not see the man without his usual heavy dose of boredom very often. He could count the times he had on his left hand and still have room for more.

"Ah, sure," he choked out as he struggled to regain his own composure.

With the smallest hint of amusement, Itachi nodded and exited from his vision, leaving Kakashi to exhale the breath he didn't know he was holding.

He shook his head in an attempt to dispel the thoughts he was unfortunate enough to be having. Why would Jiraiya do this to him? _Sakura?_ Although, based on what he'd seen through the window, she wasn't exactly unattractive… Shivering, he quickly jumped out of bed, tossing the book on the night stand. He'd decide whether to read it or burn it later.

Genma and Itachi were waiting by the door when he finally strolled casually into the living room.

"I'm starving," he grinned from under his mask, one eye crinkling in fake enthusiasm.

"I swear a girl said the exact same thing to me last week right before―"

* * *

Sakura was livid. How dare he do this to her? Who else in the entire fire country had pink hair? Only the Haruno clan! And none of the females had inherited it except her! That was it! She'd managed to get a copy of Icha Icha Master but had been appalled as soon as she'd read the description of the heroine. _Oh, god, how many times did he spy on me in the bathhouse?_ Shuddering, she gulped in a few breaths of precious air.

"AGH!" She buried her face in her pillow in despair. She would have to move away to a land that did not have erotic novels. She had heard that the land of tea was very strict on those things… It was no use. She would die of embarrassment.

Most of all, she hated that a small part of her wanted to keep reading. What would it be like to read a book about herself? To read such flattering, romantic, and erotic words? She was curious to see what Jiraiya saw in her, even if it was an exaggerated version. She was twenty years old and intensely deprived of romantic attention. Maybe it was alright to divulge in it just this once, just to satisfy some primal part of her that was currently out of the limelight.

Sakura hadn't thought about boys seriously since she'd rid herself of the delusions she'd had about Sasuke. Boys were a distraction and she had already wasted enough time on them. Once she'd gotten more powerful and proved herself by killing a member of the Akatsuki, she'd gotten so busy that she thought she'd never go on a date in her life. Tsunade had lightened her load a little bit in anticipation of the ANBU exams, but she hadn't been using her spare time to go patrolling for men. So maybe it really was alright for her to enjoy reading about herself in such situations.

She could worry about everyone else thinking of her in due time.

Opening the book back up gingerly, she found her place on the first page. Taking a deep breath, she began to read.

An hour later, and she was a mess. Jiraiya had indeed been flattering. He'd described her down to the small mole on her left hip, albeit exaggerating her assets a little in the process. She was embarrassed, flattered, and angry. Who was her opposite love interest? Not Sasuke, not Naruto, not Sai. But Jiraiya himself. Sakura was pursued by the pervy sage in the novel and she had to admit that she felt a little heated and flushed after reading some of their scenes together. It was rather gratifying to imagine herself with someone that knew a woman's body inside out. She could see how enticing it would be to have sex with a man that could pleasure her, that had experienced hands.

She felt distinctly ashamed for it. Here she was, a pathetic virgin, entertained by thoughts of older men that could give her a good time when she'd never even been with someone her own age. At the same time, she was a little disgusted at the thought of sharing a bed with Jiraiya. He was lucky that he was dead or else she would've killed him herself.

She really wasn't sure how to feel about it. She had enjoyed reading the novel, however conflicted she had become while doing so. She just hoped that none of her friends were as avid readers of the series as she was. Although, it was likely that Naruto wouldn't even see the resemblance. Kakashi, however…

Sakura buried her face in her hands and let loose a strangled cry. She was sure that he'd read it by now, and she was mortified. Would Kakashi think that she'd had relations with him? Likely no, but the thought of her teacher thinking about Sakura in a different light made her ashamed. Some part of her wanted him to believe that she was still his student, the innocent young girl he'd help mould into the woman she now was. She wanted him to think that she was still a good girl, she was still Sakura. Not Sachi, who'd let Jiraiya into every crevice of her body.

Cringing, she stowed the book away in her nightstand along with its counterparts. Sauntering to her closet, she pulled out a black long sleeved shirt and grey leggings, pulling her loose hair into a tight ponytail. She swiftly exited the room and slipped her feet into her standard red sandals. Releasing a long, drawn out sigh, Sakura opened the door and left her apartment.

Having more than enough time to reach the hospital before her shift, Sakura began the trek at a leisurely stroll. She didn't notice anyone looking at her more than usual so she figured that either word hadn't gotten out or Konoha's resident perverts were still digesting the contents of the book.

Nevertheless, Sakura ignored the crowds and continued on her way, content to stare at the clouds with a smile. She had always wondered about Shikamaru's fascination with them, but she thought she had a good idea now. It makes it a lot easier to ignore what's going on below the sky when you're focused on vast expanse of marshmallows making their way across it. She could see some of Shikamaru's genius poking through his seemingly endless laziness at these rare moments.

Seeing the silhouette of the hospital in the distance, Sakura slowed down to a crawl. The emotional rollercoaster she'd just experienced had completely driven the energy out of her. She was intensely glad for the short shift she had that night instead of her usual twenty-four to forty-eight hour shifts that she was often saddled with.

Just ahead of her, a young man with short auburn hair opened one of the doors leading to the lobby of the hospital and paused, glancing back at Sakura expectantly. Starting, Sakura half-ran to catch up. Smiling awkwardly, he pressed himself against the door to allow her to pass through freely. The fabric of his crisp, white shirt brushed against her arm as she gratefully walked through the entrance.

"Thank you," she said as she smiled warmly at him.

She glanced up at his face, a cute, boyish one that reflected innocence as he nervously cleared his throat. "It's no problem, Sakura-san."

"Oh, Kami, that makes me feel way too old." She laughed, a light chuckle that lit up her eyes. "Sakura-chan is fine. It's hard to feel serious calling a girl with pink hair Sakura-san. I'm sorry, but I don't know your name."

Chuckling, he nodded. "Yoshida Hikaru. I'm usually up in the lab so it's likely that you haven't seen me around much."

"Oh! You're a medic then?"

"Hai, a medic-nin, but I'm afraid I haven't been in the field since I was a chunin." He smiled, following her to the check in desk.

Signing in for her shift, Sakura nodded thoughtfully. "I love my work, but I'll always enjoy being in the field. Oh, I guess I better get up to the third floor to start my rounds! I'll see you later, Hikaru-kun!"

"Ah, see you!" Watching her run to the stairway, he let out a sigh.

Haruno Sakura made him a nervous wreck.

* * *

There you go! Feel free to leave a review and tell me what you think!


	4. fighting wonder

Hey, guys! Glad to see that you guys are enjoying the first few chapters of wonder! On another note, I graduate on the 24th! I'm so excited, but I have exams before that so don't count on another update this month. I may squeeze one out so thank you for holding on! This one's slightly longer than the others! Enjoy!

* * *

Sakura couldn't say that she was nervous exactly. In fact, she was fairly confident in her ability to write exams. She was good at that. Knowledge, logic, trivia, that was something she had confidence in. Nevertheless, she experienced some discomfort at the thought of writing the exam that would determine if she could continue on to the physical aspect of the ANBU exams. She knew that she shouldn't worry, that she was likely to get among the top scores in the group, but she was still wary. They were not told what constituted a pass or fail and she had memories of the chunin exam she'd taken with Sasuke and Naruto the first time around which had mindfucked everyone.

Taking a deep breath, she reoriented herself. Stealing a peek at her boys, she saw that Sasuke had his eyes closed and appeared to be napping against the wall whereas Sai was doodling on said wall. Naruto was furiously studying, his nose buried in a notebook thicker than his fist. Smiling softly, she wondered if he'd pass. She believed that he could even if he'd previously not tested very well. Naruto had grown up a lot and had realized that being the Hokage was about more than just being powerful.

"Alright, you little shits, get in the room," a man in a bear mask said, ushering them in with a lazy drawl.

Sitting at seats reminiscent of their days in the academy, they turned their attention to the man leaning against the chalkboard at the head of the room. With a head of wild, silver hair and a devilish wolf mask, it wasn't hard to figure out who it was. Sakura resisted the urge to greet him in her regular, friendly manner.

Kakashi shifted from one foot to the other before beginning to speak. "Well, there's a booklet of questions in front of you. You have three hours to complete it so, uh, get at it."

At this, everyone furiously flipped the white booklets over and began to digest each question. Eyes whipped back and forth in a blur as they tried to read it as fast as possible.

Sakura triumphantly grinned as she finished reading the first question.

 _Rock and Fire have had strenuous and violent relations since what event? Explain the repercussions._

Sakura snatched the pencil up from the desk and began to form her thoughts into words on the page. She was confident in this answer and was happy that the first question had been very easy. The next few were logic-based situational questions which she was able to puzzle her way through to a fairly well thought-out answer. There were quite a few internal knowledge questions that stood to out those that didn't know much about their own country and village.

Sakura was intelligent and she was able to answer the questions without much difficulty. She knew that the written portion of the exam was really just a way of wheedling out the mentally weak and that the physical aspect was more important. If Shikamaru made it through both then she could too.

* * *

Kakashi hated that he'd been chosen to proctor the exam. He was, of course, the newest member of team Uchiha and as such had been forced to volunteer himself for the exam. It was tedious and annoying and he just generally did not want to do it. He'd been trying to decide whether to continue reading his newest Icha Icha book but had ultimately kept it stowed away in his room, untouched. This gave him some opportunity to get away from the temptation.

Pulling out his well-worn copy of Icha Icha Tactics, he leafed through it to the spot he'd previously left it at and began to read. Well aware of the occupants of the room, he scanned the pages half-heartedly, not quite as into it as he should have been.

It was worry, really. Kakashi loved his students and wanted them to pass. He was sure that Sai, Sasuke, and Sakura would pass. But Naruto was a bit iffy. It would break his heart if he didn't make it past the written test. Glancing at the boy, Kakashi almost laughed at the intense look of concentration obscuring his telltale goofy face. Naruto was clearly trying his hardest and, judging by his paper, he was at least answering the questions. This gave him a fighting chance. As long as he had an answer that meant that he either knew the stuff or was successfully cheating.

Kakashi didn't care as long as he passed. Looking over at the others, he saw that Sakura had the smallest furrow to her brow as prodded her cheek with her pencil. Staring at the page, she suddenly jerked, a smile dusting her features. Pencil now dancing across paper, she focused her attention on the page, a confident gleam in her eyes.

Clearly she'd been studying.

Sai gave nothing away as he calmly scrawled out his answers in his methodical, loopy script. He had taken the ROOT exams after all, and they were notoriously difficult.

Sasuke had been scowling the entire time but gave a triumphant smirk as he flipped to the last page. _Knowing them_ , Kakashi mused, _they had probably placed a bet on who would finish first_.

With a start, his head whipped to look at the direction of his overeager pink-haired student. She'd just whooped in happiness at having finished the test.

 _Knew it_.

Sauntering down to where Kakashi was seated, she was about to hand him her booklet when another slammed forcefully down on the table.

"DONE!" Naruto cried out enthusiastically, sweat streaming down his face.

"That doesn't count, Naruto! I was clearly done first!"

"Mine was handed in first, Sakura-chan! HAH!" He crowed, laughing at the outrage on her face. Just as she was rolling her sleeves up to fight, Kakashi thought that it was best to intervene.

"If you are done your examinations, please exit to the left." His monotonous voice cut through their conflict and silenced the two of them.

Squinting his eyes, Naruto stuck his nose up at him "Eh, Sensei, I know it's you…"

"Shut up, Naruto."

* * *

Sakura's legs swung casually as she sat on the yellow bench outside the room, waiting for the other two members of her team to finish. Naruto sat beside her, his wide grin showing his glaringly obvious satisfaction. They would post the results as soon as the last person was done and their exam had been graded. ANBU was a top priority for Konoha so the papers were graded as soon as they were done being written.

"I'm still confused, Naruto. How did you finish so quickly? Surely you couldn't have passed at that rate."

His brow furrowing, he narrowed his eyes at her. "You calling me dumb, Sakura-chan?"

"If my question wasn't a confirmation of that then yours surely was."

"Huh?"

Chuckling, Sakura turned as the doors opened and both Sasuke and Sai stepped out of the room. They didn't seem to be happy or angry so Sakura guessed that that was a good thing. Sasuke had the barest hint of a smirk on his features so she assumed that he was confident in his answers. Sai gave them his signature grin, still as unsettling as ever.

"How did you finish so quickly, dobe?" Sasuke shot out as his eyes fell on Naruto's slouched form.

"I'm just smarter than you guys!" Naruto crowed, cackling. Pulling the skin under his eye down, he blew a raspberry at Sasuke. "Nyeh, nyeh!"

Smacking his head, Sakura told him to shut up.

This prompted an argument that ended with Sakura's foot in the middle of his back as she gripped each wrist and pulled them backwards, bending his spine.

She growled as his screams of mercy continued. Letting him drop to the floor as the door opened as the next couple shinobi shuffled wearily from the room, Sakura peered in to see who was left. Ino, Hinata, and two others were scribbling on what appeared to be the last page. A stiff-backed ANBU member shut the door quickly before she could determine anything else.

Looking around, she spotted a relieved looking Tenten. "Tenten! What did you think about it?"

Scratching the back of her head sheepishly, she admitted that she'd found it a little difficult. "What threw me off the most was Naruto…" Tenten whispered, laughing with Sakura. "When he finished in just under an hour and a half, I thought I had to be missing something. There's no way, I thought I'd gone crazy."

Laughing, Sakura nodded sagely. "Oh, I know, I was thrown off too. I did have trouble with number fifteen, what did you put?"

"I discussed the Akatsuki and its potential comeback or at least the potential of a new criminal empire as a result of lax relations between countries…" Tapping her chin, she appeared to be thinking.

Sighing in relief, Sakura nodded. "I thought that was a good way of answering it as well. I think I did well on it, overall. _But_ , I am glad it's over. I'm exhausted."

"Ino and I were talking about heading to the bathhouse when the results are posted! You have to work a shift tonight, right? It would be a great way to rejuvenate before you have to slave away. By the way, I think I prefer travelling with Gai-sensei to working shifts at the hospital," she said, shooting a grin at Sakura.

"Sometimes I do too. I have no idea how Kakashi-sensei keeps up with such an energetic rival." Laughing, she added quickly, "But I will take you up on that bathhouse offer."

Sakura jumped as Ino proudly busted through the door, a meek Hinata following. "I do believe I just slayed the shit out of that."

"You sure sound like you didn't." Ino scowled as Sakura piped up.

"Forehead, I have no time for your negativity. I'm going to get into ANBU, get promoted before you, become your taichou, and boss you around senselessly."

Scoffing, she watched as the last two exited the room. Peeking, they saw that the proctors were steadily marking the booklets. Sighing, Sakura steeled herself to wait the fifteen or so minutes before the results would be ready.

Watching the clock tick, Sakura began to nod off, eyes fluttering shut and jolting open again as she fought the urge to sleep. Jumping, Sakura turned to see Kakashi's familiar mess of silver hair as he made his way through the crowd to the bulletin board on the far wall. There was a crowd of about twenty-six ninja waiting to hear if they'd passed.

Fighting her way to the front, Sakura shrieked in delight as she spotted her name near the top of the list. A green stamp with the word "pass" marked her excitement. Along with hers, twenty-four others also had a green stamp. The last two ninja to have finished had red stamps marking them with a "fail". Realizing that the list was done in order of highest mark to lowest, Sakura began to scrutinize it. Jaw dropping, her eyes widened as she saw Naruto's at the top. There was no way that Naruto had gotten the best score. He had to have cheated.

"I felt the same way," Kakashi murmured behind her, chuckling.

"I don't understand."

"I have a strange feeling that Naruto's newfound friendship with the fox has gifted him with a wealth of knowledge."

At this, Sakura nodded in understanding. "Ah, that makes way more sense, Sensei. He can ask the fox anything that he doesn't know. The fox has lived for a long time and has seen a lot."

At this, Naruto popped in with a grin. "He prefers Kurama, y'know."

Rolling her eyes, she muttered, "Cheater."

"I did better than you, Sakura-chan! Ha-ha!" He crowed at her, laughing cheekily.

"I'm gonna kill you!"

* * *

"Oh Kami, I needed this," Sakura moaned as she sank into the water of the bathhouse. The steam wafted up around the small group of women, condensing on their skin and dripping back down into the water. Sakura sighed as she relaxed into the water, sinking in until just her nose up to the tip of her head was visible.

"I am way too sore," Ino whined, shooting a sly grin. "Ren-kun was rough last night."

"Ino!" Sakura sputtered, her face turning slightly redder than it had already been.

"Calm down, virgin. We all have love-lives except you."

"Nuh-uh! Hinata-chan doesn't either, right?" Sakura shot out, confident.

Hinata's face also gained a deep blush as she steadily avoided eye-contact with the kunoichi. "Actually, Sakura-san… I-I, well, Naruto-kun and I have gone out on a few dates…"

"What?! How did I not know about this?!"

"Well, your schedule is kind of hectic… we just don't see you as often anymore," Tenten interjected. "Neji and I have gone out a few times as well. Our clans have approved the courtship, so it's gotten quite serious. It's a little fast, but it's not like we're strangers."

Ignoring the other occupants of the bathhouse as she shrieked in frustration, Sakura ducked back down into the water to hide her pout. She was entirely confused. What had been happening while she was absorbed in her busy schedule? Naruto was finally pursuing a relationship with Hinata. At this rate, shy, timid Hinata would lose her virginity before Sakura did. Tenten, boyish Tenten, was courting Neji. At this rate, it was likely that they would end up married within a year or two.

And yet Sakura had never even had a boyfriend.

This left Sakura shaken. She was now the lone wolf of her friend group. Tenten was not a virgin. Hinata likely wouldn't stay one for long now that the love of her life was returning her feelings. If she kept this up, even Sai would get some.

Blowing bubbles distractedly as she mulled this over, Sakura became sullen.

Her friends were discovering the loves of their lives while she was discovering how to best stuff entrails back into a man. She hated the fact that it mattered to her but the truth was that it really did. She wanted someone to love. It was a lonely life to lead, dealing with the balance of killing and healing. She was in a constant state of death and life. There was a part of her that knew she could live her life without another to share it with, but there was also a side of her that desired a life outside of digging around in someone's guts and spilling others. She wanted someone to come home _to_ and someone to come home _with_.

Blinking away the stinging sensation of tears, she tuned back into the conversation.

"I can't believe you had the hots for Asuma-sensei!" Ino shrieked, tears escaping as she pointedly laughed at Tenten.

"I know he's the complete opposite of Neji, but I just can't resist that older, tough-guy thing!" Tenten giggled with her.

"But he was my sensei!"

"C'mon, you didn't have the hots for Gai-sensei?" Tenten grinned, choking back more laughter as Sakura burst into a round of giggles.

"What about you, Sakura?" Ino winked. "Have you seen what's under Kakashi's mask?"

Her laughter dying, Sakura shook her head and shot a glare at Ino. "Ugh, first of all, gross, and no, I haven't. We tried when we were genin, but we never did catch a glimpse of his face. We imagined ridiculous things but never actually saw anything…"

"Too bad, I heard he's incredibly handsome _and_ good in bed. But he never sleeps with fellow shinobi." Ino shrugged. "I guess we'll never know."

"I mean, one of the new recruits will likely be put on his ANBU team." Hinata spoke up, smiling. "So, it it likely that they will see him without his mask. I heard that his team is quite close."

"You are a _genius_ , Hinata-chan!" Tenten cheered. "We just need whoever makes it to tell us about him."

"You guys are ridiculous." Sakura simpered, ignoring her own curiosity about her teacher. She'd forgotten about the deep need she had experienced as a genin to see what he was hiding.

"We are all just dying to know what he's hiding, Sakura," Ino said, "and I'm sure you are, too."

"Pfft, whatever, Ino-pig."

Grinning, the girls settled into a comfortable silence, closing their eyes and letting the soft lapping of the water against the rocks lull them into a relaxing mood.

Sighing in pleasure, Sakura thought about Hikaru. He'd been cute and nice. Very dateable. He'd seemed to like her, or at least like talking to her. This was a change in pace, and she was reluctant to read into things. But she wasn't too serious about it either, she'd only met him the one time. She was a free agent.

Sakura had no clan to worry about or butt in. This wasn't really relevant in any case due to her lack of a love life. She missed her family a lot. Her family had never really approved of her choice to pursue a career as a shinobi. But her father had always stuck by her. When Sasuke and Naruto had gone on their two-year training journeys, Sakura had faced one of the hardest events she'd ever lived through: the death of her father. He'd been killed by shinobi on a trip to oversee a new trading outpost. The Haruno name belonged to a civilian clan known for their vast trade network.

Jaded by this, Sakura's mother, Haruno Shiori, had blamed all ninja and gotten into a huge fight with her daughter. She had forced Sakura to make a choice: her family or her career. Sakura had chosen her village over her family. After spending the night in Naruto's empty apartment, Sakura had gone to her house to try to patch things up with her mother. She found the house completely vacated and a for sale sign on the lawn. Boxes of her stuff lay on the lawn.

She was thirteen.

Sakura had never really gotten along with her mother overly well. But she missed her younger brother, Rin. She hadn't seen him since they left. He'd be about sixteen now.

Grabbing her towel from the edge of the bathhouse, she wrapping it around herself and gingerly stepped onto the rocks. "I should go, I need to get ready for my shift."

Murmuring soft, relaxed goodbyes, the others sank further into their bliss and let her go.

* * *

It was almost three in the morning when Sakura was jolted awake by her pager as she slept in the on-call room. Jumping up, Sakura slipped into her dark blue scrubs and dashed to the emergency room, eyes automatically picking up the man laid out on the gurney. A group of nurses were taking vitals as they continued to wheel him further into the hospital. He left a crimson trail behind him as blood pumped out of a vicious wound in his stomach.

"ANBU-operative Owl just arrived, heart rate at 178, BP at 80 over 40. Lacerations and stab wounds to the chest and abdomen. Wounds occurred approximately half an hour ago. He's lost a lot of blood." A medic rattled off as Sakura checked his heart rate.

"Get him into the OR!" She applied chakra into her hands and inserted them into the gaping hole in his stomach, feeling for the damage. It was extensive, but repairable. His blood loss, however, was extensive. He'd been in the field for far too long before he'd arrived.

"I need you to get some blood for him," Sakura pointed to the nearest nurse. "He's going to need it."

Bursting through the doors, Sakura attempted to begin sealing blood vessels and tissues together. Biting her lip, she cursed as she found a hole in his aorta. With his body already going into shock, her attempts to seal it were unsuccessful. Funneling more chakra into her hands, she inserted it into the artery plugging it momentarily while she sealed the hole. His skin had turned pallid and a thick sheet of sweat coated his body. Sweat beading on her own brow, Sakura wiped it on her shoulder.

He would not die tonight. She wouldn't let him. It would be a long battle, however. His organs were virtually unrecognizable. Focusing on the liver, she began to repair the damage, blood coating her as she became transfixed on the job. Stabilizing the liver, she handed the organ over to another medic, before focusing on the other organs.

It felt like no time had passed at all before the nurse snapped her out of her concentration.

"BP is dropping!" Sakura cursed as she transferred to his chest, examining the wound. It had nicked the peritoneal cavity and gotten part of the heart. He convulsed once and the monitor began to beep as his heart rate plummeted to a flatline. Using a hand to jolt his chest, Sakura repaired what she could of his heart and began compressions.

"Push one epi!" She hollered reaching one hand back to his abdomen to start repairing some of the damage as she concentrated on the chest with her other hand. The nurses shared a wondrous look with each other at her talent before obeying.

His heart rate picked up briefly before flatlining once more as Sakura fought to keep him alive.

"Don't die on me, damn it!" Sakura cursed as he flatlined again after another bout of compressions. This time, no matter what ministrations her hands performed on the man's heart, it did not beat again. After fifteen minutes of continuous and resultless effort, Sakura extracted her hands and stared at the wall.

"Time of death, 07:38."

Holding her gloved hands up, dark with blood, Sakura took a step back, allowing the nurses to wrap the man's body up. Dark circles under her eyes, Sakura continued to stare straight ahead, unseeing. Another body to add to her list of failures. Another man that would never see the light of day.

Sakura knew she should have seen it coming when he'd come in with such a low blood volume. He'd already had more than just a foot in the grave when he'd arrived. He'd had virtually nothing intact left inside him. But she was the best Konoha had to offer. She rivaled Tsunade in virtually every aspect of medicine and yet she couldn't save a man when it counted.

Clenching her jaw, she let her hands fall to her sides, beginning to shake. Quivering, she clenched and unclenched her fists. She should have been better than this. If she'd been here in the field. If she'd been there sooner, she could've prevented his death.

She was just too late.

It seemed like a trend. Too many shinobi had gone through those doors too late and never exited through them again.

It killed her inside. She was never good enough. She was never perfect.

Walking like a zombie, she exited the OR and allowed a nurse to remove her gloves and mask. Stumbling into the hall, she fell back against the wall, lost. Sliding down to the floor, she fought back tears. She'd failed. She was nothing if she couldn't save lives.

She would be there next time. They wouldn't have to get to _her_ on time. She would be in the field. _She_ would be on time. When ANBU selected her for its ranks, she would make sure that this did not happen again. Sakura would train harder, she would get better.

She wouldn't have to see her comrades die any more. She would protect them.

Glancing up, she saw that Kakashi was standing before her, his eye looking glum. "I'm sorry, Sakura."

"I did all I could…" she murmured. She stared at his outstretched hand for a moment before grabbing it. He pulled her to her feet and surprised her by enveloping her in a gentle embrace.

"I know, Sakura, you did a good job," he spoke softly, allowing her to finally break down and cry. She sobbed into his shoulder, glad that he'd offered her this comfort.

"It-it wasn't enough," she hiccuped, "and I wasn't good enough."

Patting her back, he softly shh'd her. "You're the best this village has to offer, Sakura. Now go home and get some rest." Pulling away, his eye crinkled in a smile.

"Th-thanks, Sensei."

He watched as she stumbled down the hall, glancing down at his now damp-with-blood clothes.

"Oh, well," he murmured, gloomy at his student's misfortune.

She would be fine, he knew, but that didn't mean that he didn't worry about her. She cared so much that he had a hard time resisting the urge to care with her.

She was a magnetic force, that was for sure.

* * *

Sooooo, I got that one out so much faster than I thought. The planning things out method seems to really work for me, hahaha. I thought this was pretty good for development. A little kakasaku friendship moment at the end. Just because I enjoy seeing Kakashi care. Not much action until chapter six, I'm afraid. Mostly just character development and stuff. Thanks, guys! Feel free to drop a review!


	5. wandering from wondering

Hey, guys! I know I said that you shouldn't expect another update this month, but surprise! I had a blast at my graduation but managed to get a really bad strep throat infection and I now have an IV needle in my hand. I have to go to the hospital twice a day to get antibiotics fed into my system intravenously, so that's a blast. But all in all, I am fine. So I banged out this chapter while moping around at home tonight. Or yesterday? It's after midnight where I am by now. Thank you so much for the reviews and favourites, I'm glad you guys liked that last chapter.

* * *

"I'm so glad that we found some time to do this before the physical examinations," Sakura grinned as she opened to door to find her boys standing outside. Still in her robe, she eyed each of them up. Naruto was clad in a pair of khakis and a crisp black button-up shirt. Sasuke wore a pair of black pants with a navy blue shirt matching Naruto's. Sai finished off the trio with a white shirt and grey dress pants, each of them wearing a nice pair of black shoes. Raising a brow, Sakura smirked. "You guys sure dressed up, hmm?"

Beaming down at her, Naruto threw his arms around her and lifted her up, spinning her around. "Naruto!" She shrieked as she attempted to pull down the hem of her robe, all too aware of the fact that it wasn't exactly the longest garment she owned.

"Sorry, Sakura-chan! It's just been a while," Naruto said, scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

Ushering them inside, she rolled her eyes and stood in the doorway, a hand on her hip. "I still can't believe that you didn't tell me about Hinata-chan." She shot Naruto a pointed look.

"You've been very busy lately, Sakura-chan," Sai interjected, offering his little bit of input.

"Yeah, you're going to overwork yourself, you know," Sasuke chided, giving her a look of disapproval. "Especially once we're in ANBU."

Sakura smirked. Sasuke was good at hiding something encouraging in a reprimand.

"I'm fine, you guys. Really. It's only tiring when I get held down with extreme cases. Most of the time I'm only on call or performing rounds." Sighing, she closed the door and continued on into her apartment. "Besides, I'll be in the hospital much less with ANBU taking up so much of my time. I'll be on call when I'm in town but they'll only call me in strict emergency circumstances."

Naruto plopped down on the couch and grinned. "Ok, if you say so." Turning his attention elsewhere, he stretched out comfortably. "So the big day is tomorrow, huh?"

Swallowing nervously, she nodded uncertainly. "I just hope it's not going to be too difficult."

Rolling his eyes, Sasuke replied cynically, "It's ANBU, Sakura, of course it's going to be difficult."

Her response consisted of a tongue stuck out in his general direction.

"What's it like, Sai?"

Sai simply sent her an apologetic smile―or at least as close to one as he could get. "I was in ROOT, remember? The process is remarkably different, to say the least. Otherwise, I could bypass the exam altogether."

Pouting, she marched to her bedroom to get changed. Shrugging out of her fuschia pink robe, adorned with black designs of dragons native to the legends of the Fire Country. The hem of the robe along with the ends of the sleeves were finished with gold trim. Picking up the silk robe, she hung it up in her small closet, already stuffed to the brim with clothes. Half the time she couldn't even find what she was looking for. Putting on a matching pair of lacy undergarments―not that anyone would see them―she paused trying to spot a nice outfit that would match the general appearance of the boy's clothes. Triumphantly pulling out a black dress, she slipped it over her lacey bra and thong, glancing at the results in her mirror.

"Damn, Sakura. Do you got a booty? Damn right you do," she giggled to herself, stopping as she realized how embarrassing she was as a person in that very moment. Her dress was tight, reaching halfway down her muscular thighs. It had full sleeves that cut off at the shoulders, making a straight line across her bust and around to her back. It didn't reveal any cleavage but was short enough to cause her some worry about revealing her underwear.

Sakura peered out of her bedroom to check on the boys. Seeing them absorbed in some sort of program on her television, she felt it was safe to try to freshen up in the bathroom. Seeing as it was a last hurrah of sorts before they were all potentially split up into their respective ANBU teams, she wanted to put a bit of effort into looking good. Getting out the curling iron that she hadn't used in years, she began to loosely curl her hair until the pink locks curled gently over her shoulders and back. She applied a small amount of eyeliner and mascara, touching her lips up with a touch of strawberry lip gloss. Satisfied with the reflection in the mirror, she tiptoed into the hall, stopping at the entrance to the living room. She did, after all, look better than normal.

"Ta-da!" She called out, flashing a smile at the three men lounging on her couch.

Looking up, equal amounts of surprise found their way onto each of their faces, reflected in a shared raising of eyebrows. As soon as they had seen her, the arguing they were having over the channel ceased. She quickly pulled on a pair of low black heels and started walking towards them.

"Wow, Sakura," Sasuke smirked. "You almost look like a female."

At this, he received a glare and a half-choked bark of laughter from Naruto.

"Thanks, you assholes, let's go already." She rolled her eyes at the pair and linked arms with Sai, dragging him through the door. "At least Sai-kun doesn't laugh at me."

"Only because he doesn't know how."

Naruto blew out in another spell of laughter, tears streaming down his face. "When did you get so funny, Teme?"

"Shut up, dobe."

Spying her chance, Sakura piped up, "Someone must've removed the giant stick up his ass." Batting her eyelashes, she smirked up at him.

"I'm going to kill you, Sakura. I am literally going to end you."

After dodging his weak attempts at retaliation, they walked to the restaurant of choice in comfortable silence.

The restaurant was called Umenohana and was a classy joint that they tended to frequent on the nights when three out of the four of them were sick of ramen. Kakashi used to eat with them before he was chosen to be on Uchiha Itachi's ANBU team. Except for the Hokage's occasional orders to stay in town to rest, they didn't see their ex-sensei very often.

"Reservation for Haruno Sakura, please!" Sakura gave the hostess a bright smile as the lady directed them to their table. Ordering the house wine, they bickered over the best choice of meal.

Laughing at her boys and thinking of how grateful she was to have such a close relationship with her friends, Sakura lapsed into a happy silence. She was happy to just have people that she could count on whether it had been hours since she'd last seen them or weeks.

* * *

It had been a week since Kakashi had found Sakura in the hospital. He wasn't great at comforting or expressing emotion, but he couldn't stand there and watch someone he considered close to him disintegrate into nothing. She'd looked so completely lost and hopeless that he had to step in. He had to give her what little he had to give. If that happened to be a shoulder to cry on, then so be it.

The Hokage had ordered them to stay in the village for yet another two weeks to participate in the physical examinations. He knew that one of the recruits would end up on their squad and that Tsunade likely wanted some time for their new member to train and get used to his or her new teammates. It did nobody any good to have not only an inexperienced recruit, but also one that was not comfortable with his or her team.

Kakashi was not looking forward to having a member on his team that couldn't keep up and would inevitably fail and die. But with his students attempting the exam, he was sure that they would assign one of them to his team. In this way, at least, he was sure that they'd have a better chance at surviving. He would place money on the bet that any one of his students could defeat Genma and he'd survived longer than most. In fact, the three of them had long surpassed the life expectancy of ANBU members.

Thinking back, he was a little worried about Sakura after seeing her in the state she'd been in. He'd been checking up on her throughout the week out of concern for her mental health, but she had seemed fine. At least on the surface. ANBU was a place where you needed to show little emotion and care little about others. Sakura cared all too much, especially about saving the lives of others. Could she really make it through the assassinations and careless slaughter that accompanied the job?

He wasn't too sure. Sure, she had the determination and the strength to pull it off. Not to mention her cunning and ability to pick up obscure jutsu, but he wasn't sure that she could come away unscathed emotionally.

He hated admitting, even to himself, that he cared about people. Even though he'd been working for a relatively short period of time with his team, he had become close with them. He'd grown apart from his old students because of the nature of his job, but he would always care far too much for them.

He was weak. Something that he did in fact mind, but he was now finding that he didn't mind it quite as much as he used to.

The members of his pack were all lazing around on the floor of his room, each of them eyeing his form as he began to move. As he made his way to the door, all eight tails began slowly weaving back and forth, eventually picking up their pace to a steady blur of movement.

Rolling his eyes, he gestured to the door. "Come on then." At this they jumped up, each nudging the others to try to get out the fastest. As highly functioning as they were, they were still dogs at heart. Nevertheless, as soon as Bull reached the door, the others found it impossible to get by.

Leading the pack through his now seemingly cramped apartment, he opened the door and allowed them to barrel ahead of him. Following behind at a leisurely pace, he sighed. All he wanted was to get some takeout. But his ninken hadn't been out in a while and they enjoyed taking a stroll through the village occasionally. Scratching the head of the nearest dog as he opened the door to the outside world, he blinked rapidly to adjust to the darkness. With his enhanced senses, he was able to do so fairly quickly compared to most shinobi.

"It's nice out tonight, hmm?" He said out loud, mostly to himself. Pakkun murmured approval as he pattered next to Kakashi, always his right-hand man. Or dog, rather.

On his way to Ichiraku's, he spotted a head of pink hair wandering through the relatively empty street ahead of him. Remembering his instinctive worry, he watched her as she continued along. Although far away, he could make out that she was in a dark dress, black perhaps, and heels. His pace quickened enough that he was gaining ground on her.

Maybe just a small chat to check up with her. They hadn't spoken since that night, afterall.

As she rounded the corner onto an empty side street, he finally caught up to her.

"Sakura!" He called, skipping ahead to come to her side as she stopped.

"Kakashi-sensei?" She smiled warmly, a small amount of confusion and questioning in the way she uttered his name. He stepped around to face her, mostly because he needed to see her face. And a little bit because her ass was mind-numbingly appealing in that dress.

"Yo." He seemed to have forgotten that he should've had a reason to speak to her first before he attempted to.

Laughing, she shook her head, the loose curls bouncing in response. "You should've come out with us for dinner, Kakashi-sensei. One last hurrah, y'know?"

"Mmm, I'm not your sensei anymore, Sakura." At this, she sent an odd, thoughtful look at him. The lack of honourific after her name twice in a row was more intimate than she was used to with him.

"Then what should I call you?"

Smiling under his mask, Kakashi paused for a moment, thinking. She took this as a sign to scratch the heads of his eager ninken, each expressing their love for her by attempting to knock her over.

"Kakashi-dono or Kakashi-sama will do."

Punching his arm as a burst of laughter escaped her throat, she looked up at him, in a seemingly good mood. "If you're going to start calling me just by Sakura, then I suppose Kakashi is fine too. Or would you prefer Kakashi-senpai?"

"As long as it doesn't include sensei in it, I'm fine. It makes me feel old. As someone who's about to turn twenty five―"

Snorting, she held up a hand. "You don't think anyone believes that, do you?" Narrowing his eyes, he turned his chin up at her.

"That happens to be my age, I'll have you know."

Shaking her head at his antics, she rolled her eyes at him. "I don't get you, Kakashi-se―I mean Kakashi. Just Kakashi. What did you want, anyways? I was just about to go home and get some rest before the exam tomorrow. Got any advice?"

Reaching a head up to scratch at his head, he paused to collect his words. "Well, about that, Sakura… Well, are you absolutely sure about this? I mean, is this what you really want?"

He knew he'd chosen the wrong words when her eyes narrowed and her arms stiffened at her sides. She bit out, angrily, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Holding his hands up in an attempt to calm her down, he spoke quickly. "I'm not saying you won't be fine, Sakura, but is this really what you want? I mean, you just aren't really the ANBU type, are you?" Sensing the oncoming argument, his ninken promptly disappeared in a poof of smoke.

"I can't believe you're doing this right now! After last week, when you said you believed in me, when you said I could do it," he watched with dread as her eyes filled with tears. "Y-you lied to my face. Well fuck you, too, Kakashi- _sensei_ ," she spat out with anger.

"Sakura! You know that's not what I mean!" Kakashi weakly called out as she turned around. "I'm just worried about you."

Pausing for a moment, her shoulders tight and shaking with anger, a loud sniffle broke the silence. "Why? Because I'm still the weak one? After I've come so far, is this what you really think of me, Kakashi? Am I always going to live in the shadow of my teammates? Will I never be good enough in your eyes? Well, I have news for you. I am good enough, and I will make ANBU. I gave up everything to be a kunoichi and I'll be damned if I give up now." At this, she stormed off, leaving him in a mess of emotions.

He should've known that it would go like this. He was at a loss for words. What could he say to that? He obviously couldn't take back what he'd said. At least not until the next day when she'd had some time to calm down. He watched as she disappeared from sight.

"Kakashi, you really fucked up." He groaned.

* * *

Who did he think he was? He had to know how much his opinion mattered to her. He had to know that she needed validation from him. How much it hurt to be left behind as the weak one. To be underestimated and underappreciated. It fucking sucked.

Wiping her tears away angrily, she sniffled away the snot that was starting to collect in her nose. God, he infuriated her. He saw her in a weak state once, _once_ , and suddenly she was incapable of doing anything.

She wasn't weak. Stopping for a moment to collect herself, she finished erasing the evidence of her crying fit. Checking to see if her makeup had smudged, she hiccuped a little. Taking some deep breaths, she allowed her breathing to even out again. Remembering that she left her lucky kunai at the hospital, she turned left and began making her way to the hospital. With some purpose in her step, she found herself getting calmer and the urge to cry lessening little by little. As she reached the hospital, she spotted Hikaru exiting through the doors.

"Hikaru-kun!" She waved, sending him a smile that she didn't know she had left in her.

"Ah, Sakura-chan! It's nice to see you again! I haven't seen you in a while." He smiled at her, a warm, boyish smile that instantly warmed her.

"I've been pretty busy myself. I was hoping to see you again, Hikaru-kun. I enjoyed meeting you the other day, however short our conversation was." He lit up at this, obviously happy at her words.

Running a hand through his hair, he laughed sheepishly. "I'm flattered, Sakura-chan. I'll admit, I felt the exact same."

She returned his smile, a light blush creeping up her cheeks. It was nice to feel a little bit of affection from a cute boy. He seemed to notice her outfit and the effort she'd taken in making her look presentable, and a blush of his own found its way onto his cheeks.

"W-wow, Sakura-chan, you look lovely tonight," he stammered obviously a little shy. "Not that you don't always look lovely! I-I just mean that you look really nice tonight! Did you have a date or something?"

Smiling softly, she shook her head. "No, the boys and I went out for dinner. I haven't had a date since I was sixteen." Laughing a little, she shrugged. "Boys don't really go for me, I'm afraid."

Eyes widening, he gaped like a fish out of water. "You're kidding, right? But Sakura-chan, you're such a catch! I mean, any guy would be lucky to get a single date with you!"

Snorting, she shook her head. "That's highly unlikely. But it's real kind of you to say that, Hikaru-kun."

He seemed shocked by this turn in conversation. Regaining a little confidence, he shook his head adamantly. "You shouldn't talk like that! I'd be happy to take you on a date myself, if you wanted." Realizing how forward he'd been, he ducked his head in embarrassment.

Sakura felt intensely happy at the young man's admission of attraction. She did not often consider herself pretty or hear anyone entertain the thought. So to have a cute, smart man outraged at the thought of her made her feel good about herself. Something she usually only felt when she was showcasing her skills as a shinobi. She was flattered.

"I may just take you up on that offer sometime, Hikaru-kun." She smiled shyly, holding out a hand.

Smiling back at her, he shook her hand, laughing at the oddness of the gesture.

"It's a deal, then."

"I'll see you later, Hikaru-kun."

"I'll be looking forward to it."

Leaving him on the other side of the doors, she made her way through the quiet halls of the hospital until she reached her office. Unlocking the door, she quickly spotted the kunai sitting on top of her desk. Grabbing it, she quickly hurried back into the fresh air. Her feet were starting to cramp up in the heels and she wanted to get home before it got too late. Her conversation with Hikaru had brightened her mood up more than she could've expected. If she wasn't careful, the small crush she'd developed on the boy might transform into something a lot worse for her heart. It hadn't worked out too well in the past. But, thinking of her thoughts in the bathhouse, she thought that maybe it wasn't such a bad thing after all.

As she made her way home, she found the small smile Hikaru had left on her face was still there, leaving her mood in a higher place than she would've expected after her rather unpleasant conversation with Kakashi. She was sure that she'd be fine tomorrow, but she was still miffed that he'd been such a gigantic dick.

Pushing away her thoughts of the negative portion of her night, she reflected on what a nice change of pace Hikaru was. He had a nice face, an even nicer personality, and he didn't challenge her as a shinobi. She didn't feel the need to impose herself, to make her strength known. He knew she was powerful and he respected her for it. She didn't have to convince him that she was good enough.

It was such a welcome relief that she was surprised she hadn't jumped on the chance to organize a date right away. But with her ANBU exam the next day, she couldn't afford to organize anything prematurely.

Sighing, she flopped onto her bed and let herself lay there, completely worn out by the flurry of events that night. It was a wonder she survived the drama at all. Kicking her heels off, she peeled off the dress and crawled under the covers. Setting her alarm, she hugged her pillow and let her thoughts drift away into a sleepy abyss. She would make ANBU, she would get a love life, and she would prove to everyone that she was good enough. She was good enough for the village, for the hokage, and for a love life…

* * *

There it is, guys. Some OC/Sakura interactions. Don't worry, he's mostly just there to further my romantic plot, but he'll be gone eventually. It _is_ KakaSaku, as you are all aware. Sorry for any typos, I haven't really proofread it. Thank you so much! Feel free to drop a review and tell me what you think (despite the lack of plot).


	6. a certain kind of wonder

Hello, it's me again. I've managed to update once again! I'm astounded at my lack of writer's block. I highly recommend planning out chapters in advance haha, it really does wonders. A little bit of torture towards the end, nothing too bad. If there's any typos, I apologize but I like never proofread hahaha. Anyways, enjoy.

* * *

Running a hand through her hair, Sakura sighed. She'd had a relatively good night's sleep, but a small knot of nerves were gnawing at her from within. Yawning, she stretched her arms above her head. She wiped at her eyes with closed fists, dismayed at the makeup smudged along her fist. She was loathe to get out of the comforts of her bed, her nest of warmth and relaxation, for a day that she knew would be full of physical challenges.

But, more than that, she was excited to become a member of Konoha's finest. This had become her end goal and now it was finally within her grasp. She would be among the best of her profession, using her talents to further the goals of her country. This made the hard choice between her family and her career seem worth it. Because it was worth it. This was something that she'd found she had to tell herself once in awhile when she was brought face to face with the prospect of her loneliness. She was so incredibly alone at times. She didn't think of it as often as one would think, but it did come across her thoughts now and again. She was happy, and she knew that this was the driving force that kept her from repeatedly going back to such a difficult topic in her head.

She really was happy. She had everything she had hoped for: a career surpassing that of even her shishou, a group of friends that would die for her, and a set of skills that allowed her to finally feel proud of herself. She had no reason to complain and, for the most part, was so busy that she didn't notice how alone she was.

It would always hurt the way that her mom had left her, however. She couldn't understand how a mother could abandon her child, a child that was still growing, still learning. A child that hadn't even finished puberty. She'd left her out of ignorance, fear, and hatred for a job she had no experience with. In the beginning, Sakura had sworn that she would never forgive her mother. Deep inside, she already had. Sakura loved her family and it had broke her heart to choose her career over her mother. But Sakura wasn't stupid. It had been a challenge for her to adjust to the differences between civilian and shinobi life. Her way of thinking had changed in order to prepare herself for a mercenary lifestyle. Her mother had never made a distinctive thought pattern change and so could not handle what came with being connected to Sakura's world.

All she wanted was to see her mother's face, to see her smile softly as she sang songs to her when she was sick. She wanted to see her brother again, to hold him tight and make up for all the years she'd been away.

It was hard to accept that her mother would ever abandon her, but with that came the hope that she would one day find it within herself to swallow her pride and return.

Without Sakura, there was no telling how many lives would have been lost. How many families that would be missing pieces, how many children coming home to a fatherless house, or how many names would have been etched into the memorial stone. She was one of the pillars of Konoha, like it or not, and without her, there would be a considerable dent in its numbers.

Not that she wasn't just as lethal. Although out of the field more than she was in it, Sakura was a force to be reckoned with. Sakura oozed perfection when fighting. A fan of brute strength over finesse, she made crushing skulls and ribcages look as easy as it could be. She made it look like child's play. She didn't enjoy killing but, in a way, she did like the confirmation of her skills it provided.

That was just how she was. She was well known as a monstrously strong kunoichi that was an invaluable asset on the battlefield. Sakura was fought over for missions quite frequently but had chosen the hospital over an exciting life full of missions because it was where she felt that she could do the most. She'd initiated a medic training program, one that Tsunade had always wanted to start herself. This had led to an overall spike in medical skill and a lack of pressing need for her skills. All medical ninja were required to work some shifts in the hospital which would lead to her being able to take more and more time off. Sakura, at this point, was really only needed for special cases. The hospital had been the place where she could make the most difference. And now it was ANBU.

Finally finding the energy to crawl out of bed, Sakura wandered to the bathroom and peeled off the cute underwear that nobody had seen the previous night. She ran cold water in her sink and splashed her face, scrubbing away the makeup that she'd allowed to sit on her face overnight. Her sleepiness fell away and she pulled her hair into a tight, high ponytail.

Slipping into a fresh pair of cotton panties and a sports bra, she wandered back into her room to find some clothes. She smiled as she spotted her classic outfit from her younger days training under Tsunade. She zipped up the red shirt, now considerably tighter in the bust than it had been, and slid into a pair of black spandex shorts. Foregoing the pink skirt, she wrapped her leg with bandages and clipped on her weapons holster before putting on her shin and forearm guards. Smirking in the mirror, she pulled on a pair of sandals and made sure that she had everything.

Glancing at the clock, Sakura realized that she had ten minutes to get to the Forest of Death. Groaning, she bolted out the door, stopping only to grab a bottle of water.

* * *

Panting slightly, Sakura straightened up under the scrutiny of the proctors. Morino Ibiki was standing next to two unidentified ANBU members, each seemingly eyeing up the recruits. Sakura noticed that there were no other members of ANBU there and suspected that many of them were hiding in the forest to make it harder to find them.

"You were almost late, Sakura-chan." Sai smiled down at her, ignoring Ibiki as he began to talk.

"Shh! It's about to start!"

Turning to the scary man, Sakura tuned into his words.

"Good morning, fellow shinobi of the leaf. The examination will begin shortly. Each recruit will be placed in a team based on skill level and experience. These teams are set up to help you succeed, not hinder you. Therefore, you will likely be very familiar with your team members." Pausing, he let this sink in.

Sakura noticed that many of the recruits were visibly relieved at this, including her own friends. She, too, knew that she would perform to the best of her abilities with her boys.

"This is an information retrieval mock-mission. However, you must treat it like it is a real one. Each team will be given scrolls at random, each with a piece of information that you must protect at all costs. The scrolls will have something that you must find out as well. There will be operatives in teams within the forest that will be attempting to incapacitate you while you will be attempting to do the same. Keep in mind that you want them able to speak in order to gain the information that you need. You must retrieve the information and escape the forest with your captives. Be fast, be efficient, and leave little trace." He cleared his throat and gestured to the two operatives who began to read out team assignments.

As expected, they were put into a team but were not designated a leader. As the naturally bossy one, Sakura offered to do the job. As soon as they were in their teams, black scrolls were passed around.

Reading theirs silently, they rolled their eyes at the secret information they had to protect. Sakura had to cover Naruto's mouth to keep him from blurting out the ridiculousness of "Tomatoes exist in over 7500 varieties." Their object was to find out Ibiki's favourite colour.

"Well, this sounds ridiculous, but I bet that's what they're banking on. We have to take it seriously. They want us to mess up," Sasuke said, all seriousness.

"That's because you like tomatoes, teme," Naruto laughed, slapping him on the back.

Ignoring him, Sasuke turned to watch as Ibiki held up his hand.

"On your marks, get set, go!"

They were gone in a flash, disappearing into the depths of the forest. It had been a long time since any creature within the forest gave them a fright but they were wary of them nonetheless. They couldn't afford to get bogged down in fighting giant snakes and poisonous frogs.

Stopping, they warily got together to discuss a quick game plan. "I can summon my ninneko," Sakura stated, eyeing up the forest. "They'll split up and track any scents that they find."

Nodding, Naruto voiced his agreement. "I think we should stick together for now. We can discuss splitting up before we ambush any potential teams we find."

Agreeing, Sakura bit her thumb and summoned three cats. A large orange tabby, and a small black cat appeared in a puff of smoke. Sakura had kept her pact with the slug summons but with their specialty in healing, she had wanted some summons that were versatile and compatible with her personality. Kakashi had been disdained to learn that she'd picked cat summons.

"Momo, head east and see if you can pick up the scent of any shinobi, ANBU in particular," she gestured to the small black cat. "Bento, head west and do the same. Follow the trail for a bit and if you can identify the ninja, do so. Report back to me when you have a solid lead."

"Hai, Sakura-nya," they called as they disappeared in flash.

"We can head north and scan the environment. I doubt that they would be very close to the gate due to their time to prepare."

Nodding, they took off. Sai created some birds made of ink and allowed them to fly ahead and above, scanning the immediate area for any signs of another presence. They continued to run, the heat of the day gradually increasing as the morning became closer to noon, until Momo popped into place at Sakura's side.

"I ran into many other ninja while I was running, but none were ANBU," she mewed, turning her nose up at the other ninja listening intently. "But I did pick up the trail of several ANBU northeast of here."

Grinning, Sakura locked eyes with her teammates. "Lead the way, Momo."

Pumping a fist in the air in excitement, Naruto leapt ahead of everyone in a burst of chakra, following the black blur of the cat. She was agile and incredibly fast, leaping from branch to branch and staying in the safety of the shade. Not that much sun reached the ground through the gigantic trees that made up the forest.

Sakura wiped the sweat beading at her brow, feeling the exertion of travelling at such a breakneck speed in the heat of the morning. The Land of Fire was humid and hot for most of the year, with a small break from December to February. They very rarely got cold enough weather for snow and were not quite humid enough to be like the rainforests of Rain.

Sakura felt satisfied as she watched her leg muscles contract and relax, the muscle definition visible as they swelled under the heat and strain.

Slowing down as she saw Momo halt, she came to a rest beside the small furball. Bending down to scratch between her ears, Sakura whispered, "Are they close now?"

Nodding, Momo gestured ahead. "They are within five minutes that way and appear to be stationary although they were moving just previously-nya."

Thanking the cat, Sakura told her to relay to Bento that they were no longer needed. Momo nodded and disappeared, leaving them to coordinate a battle plan.

"With a four-man squad, we should try to take out two right away. If we concentrate our efforts on two rather than on detaining all at once, we have a higher chance of capturing them. With surprise on our side, we can definitely take them out right away and then split into two-man teams to focus on the remaining two." Sakura began planning the strategy, taking in Sasuke's and Sai's input to adjust it. Eventually, they had a smooth, uniform plan put together. Splitting into the pairs that would split once more when two were incapacitated, Sakura followed Sai up the side of one of the trees.

Reaching the top of the massive tree, they perched on the vast expanse of foliage. Sai quickly made a bird large enough for the two to crouch on top of. Sakura admired his look of concentration as a small crease between his brows formed. They hopped onto the bird and Sakura used a simple genjutsu to make them less noticeable as they descended through the trees towards their targets.

Sasuke was heading towards their targets from the west while Naruto would intercept them from the east. This left an aerial attack from Sai and Sakura. As they made out the figures from a distance, keeping silent, Sai directed the bird into a steep dive. They'd agreed that Naruto and Sasuke would attack the one closest to the south and that Sai and Sakura would attack the one closest.

Zooming towards the ground at an alarming rate, Sakura nodded to Sai. He dispelled the bird and they flipped their bodies so that they were heading towards the ANBU squad head first. As they came close enough to see their targets, they spotted a flash of orange and black as their other team members clashed with their target. Sakura, with a graceful arch in her back, flipped her body as they came within range.

Sai mimicked her as they came closer, knowing that the shinobi would be distracted with Naruto and Sasuke's entrance. As the ANBU operative beside the one that had disappeared in a cloud of dust took a step forward to enter the fray, he was met with an array of senbon in his back that paralyzed him. A kick from Sai's foot as he flipped into an upright position sent him sprawling to the ground, his mask clattering as it was sent sprawling.

Shiranui Genma lay on the ground, incapacitated and entirely unconscious thanks to Sai and Sakura. Sakura sucked in a breath and cursed. They had the unfortunate luck of finding Team Uchiha. Readying herself for a battle, her gaze immediately flew to the two leftover ninja. They were crouched low and standing a fair distance away from them. Glancing at where she knew Sasuke and Naruto to be, she saw that they had sealed up their ninja into a container of some kind.

Sakura knew that Kakashi and Itachi would never have been fooled by such a tactic and was glad that they had aimed for Genma and the other shinobi. She watched as the two ANBU turned to look at each other and then nodded. They disappeared in a flash, each going in opposite directions. Naruto and Sasuke immediately dashed after the figure they knew to be Itachi. Sasuke's sharingan was the best match for Itachi's own killer eyes.

Sai and Sakura nodded to each other before dashing after Kakashi. He was fast but Sakura's training allowed her to catch up in a short amount of time. Sakura pumped chakra into her legs as she followed his trail. Sai fell a small ways behind but managed to stay in sight as she gained on her ex-sensei. Seeing the man in the edge of her sight, she grinned. He jumped up as she sent a few senbon speeding towards him. Unrelenting, Sakura sent more at him along with an array of kunai and shuriken. Kakashi slowed down as he dodged the weapons, aware that he would soon have to face them.

Jumping straight up, he created two clones and began forming hand seals. Sakura rolled to the side as a fireball flew past her. He landed on a large branch, his feet sliding with the momentum that his running had generated. Sakura immediately launched herself towards him, knowing that she had the advantage in close combat. Kakashi, well aware of this, leapt away. The clones dove towards her, each holding a kunai. Sakura simply continued towards them, trusting that Sai would take them out.

Sai did just as she expected as he arrived, popping the clones out of existence as Sakura attempted to attack Kakashi. Kakashi changed his course and Sakura brought her arms up to block as his leg came down with considerable force. Sending her flying, she flipped to land on her feet, immediately heading towards him once more. Locked in combat with Sai, he had to leap away as Sakura rejoined the fray. Weaving around the two, Kakashi parried their blows and managed to keep them from damaging him.

With a cry, Sakura brought her leg around in a roundhouse kick that managed to finally connect with her sensei's side. He rolled along a tree branch, sliding off the edge.

Sakura and Sai were wise enough to not let the lucky hit go to waste. Sai immediately created two ink lions that dove after the man. Sinking their claws into either side of him, they held him in place as Sakura followed them through the air. Kakashi attempted to fight her off as they fell to the ground, but the lions kept kim in place as she bound his arms and legs tightly. They were saved from the hard fall when Sai swooped in with a flourish on a new bird. Landing softly, Sai dispelled the creatures and watched as Sakura effortlessly carried the man.

Leaning him against the nearest tree trunk, Sakura removed his mask. Smirking down at the man, Sakura threw a hand on her hip and eyed up the man.

"Well, well, Kakashi- _sensei_ ," she purred, her eyes glimmering in delight. She may have forgiven but she still hadn't quite forgotten the insult he'd paid her the night before.

"Yo."

Rolling her eyes, Sakura got down to business. "Listen here, Mister Mean Ol' ANBU," she said and grinned cheekily as she spoke. "We need to know something and _you_ are going to provide us with this little piece of info, ok?"

Kakashi only continued to give her his characteristic eye crinkle. He kept his sharingan eye closed, knowing that they were too wise to look him in the eye.

Sai kept silent, choosing to prod at the man's face with his boot, a fake grin on his face.

Kakashi didn't seem to mind.

"What's Morino-san's favourite colour?" Sakura growled, changing her demeanour. She reached into the holster at her side and plucked out a kunai, twirling it around her finger.

"I'm not sure, Miss Scary Ninja-san." He simpered, entirely in his leisure. Brows furrowing, Sakura gave him a long, hard look. Sashaying closer to him, she gave him a smirk before pointing the kunai at him.

"Are you sure, _sensei_?" At his lack of reaction, she crouched down until she was eye-level with the man. Moving the kunai forward, she let it rest just above his sternum. In a flash, she'd cut the straps holding his chest guard up. With the edge of the blade, she slid it down to his waist, revealing his chest clad only on a thin black muscle shirt with the attached mask. She repositioned the blade at the top of her sternum and gave him a small smirk as she put a small amount of pressure on it.

His eyebrows furrowed as the tip of the blade entered his flesh, a trickle of blood escaping only to disappear into the black of his outfit.

"How about now?" Sakura whispered, raising her eyebrow at the silence she was met with. Sliding the blade slowly downward, she watched, expressionless, as he hissed in pain. His breaths came out slightly less evenly as she continued, stopping just as his ribcage ended. Twisting the blade a little before withdrawing it, Sakura waited to see how he would react. Swallowing hard, she knew that it had hurt him.

Sakura did not like to torture people for information but she knew that Kakashi had been through far worse than this and was likely not hurting any more than he could handle. They needed the information, however trivial it was, and she was prepared to hurt her friend if she had to. She would probably be the one healing him when it was all over anyways.

Sticking a finger in the wound, she pressed and dragged it along, watching as his eye twitched in reaction.

"Tell me," she whispered once more, wanting to get it over with. "Tell me before I'm forced to resort to drastic measures."

Rolling his eyes, he shot out a muttered reply.

"What did you say?" She cocked her head questioningly.

"I said 'like you haven't already.'"

Laughing, Sakura nodded. "Yes, well, I suppose it could get a lot worse, too. I know the most painful spots on your body, _sensei_ , and I know exactly which places will make you want to die."

Kakashi almost sweat dropped at this. Since when had Sakura gotten so scary? He knew that it was an act to get the information she needed, but he needed to prolong this as much as possible. While she had been so busy trying to get him to talk, he'd been working on the bindings. He was now able to move his hands enough to form hand signs. He just needed the right distraction so that he didn't wind up right back where he had started.

Of course Sakura had to have cut through his shirt. She couldn't have picked part of his arm or something.

He knew that a distraction would be arriving soon enough. Itachi was smart enough to shake off Sasuke and Naruto. They hadn't split up at all, really. Itachi would have picked off Naruto and Sasuke right away. As soon as he was able to, Itachi would have then turned around and gone after Kakashi, knowing that Kakashi would let himself be caught. With this in mind, Kakashi would wait until Itachi came before breaking free, incapacitating the two leftover.

But first, he supposed that he could give Sakura what she wanted.

Groaning melodramatically, Kakashi shook his head. "Ok, ok, Sakura, I'll tell you the information. Just stop picking on this poor old man."

Shooting a grin at Sai, she turned back to Kakashi expectantly.

"His favourite colour, is, well, it's aquamarine, actually," he grinned under his mask, watching as Sakura looked deeply disturbed.

"I would have imagined it would be red or black or something," she muttered.

Seeing Itachi out of the corner of his eye, Kakashi formed an escape jutsu and smirked as the ropes fell away. Sakura watched with wide eyes as Sai crumpled with a precise hit to his neck. She was even more outraged, however, as she saw Kakashi making a break for it.

Realizing that it was likely a trap all along, her face contorted in what could only be described as full blown rage. Ignoring the dangerous Uchiha heading for her next, Sakura turned her back and took a step toward the entirely too gleeful silver-haired man. He made it two steps before her fist hit the back of his skull, launching him forwards and knocking him out cold.

She only had time to register that they'd failed before Itachi's sharingan had taken her into the darkness as well.

* * *

Well, I hope Sakura's little sadistic side wasn't too weird, but there's chapter seven, ahead of schedule. Feel free to drop me a review!


	7. finding some wonder

SO, I am actually sorry this took so long. I had the chapter mostly written but wasn't exactly sure how to go about it. I've never written anything like it before. It was really, really hard to get started. Just a warning, there is torture involved in this chapter. I don't think it's as graphic as it was going to be as I've skipped over most of it, but this is just a warning, ok?

Thank you so much guys!

(Once more, I will just add that this is a trigger warning for torture!)

* * *

Sakura opened her eyes, a foggy haze clouding her head as she struggled to make sense of herself. She was disoriented and unable to see clearly. Trying to clear her head, she thought back to her last memory. They had just failed the exam. Hanging her head, she fought back the urge to cry. She had worked so hard and it was all for nothing because she'd been too cocky and underestimated her opponents. She felt sick.

All she wanted to do was crawl into a hole and die. She would never prove that she was good enough.

As her vision began to slowly clear up, Sakura realized that she was neither home nor in the hospital. She noticed bright lights that were almost blinding. The walls were dark stone and her arms were hoisted above her head. When she tried to move, her shoulders and hands ached, telling her that she'd been hanging unconscious for quite some time. Looking up, she spotted cuffs that had chakra seals engraved into the metal on each side, eliminating her ability to escape. She was on her knees with just enough tension to cause discomfort. Staggering to her feet, she blinked.

Groaning, she looked at the mirror on the far wall. She could see that she was still in the same condition as before. She began to shiver, goosebumps rising along her arms as she squirmed uncomfortably. All she wanted was to hug herself, bringing what little warmth she had into her core. The air was so incredibly cold that she was starting to feel numb. Each breath she took left an icy tingle in her lungs.

A steady stream of water trickled down one of the walls; she noticed a sheen of moisture coating each individual stone. It left a very dreary impression that made Sakura remember a particularly graphic scene in one of Jiraiya's novel. Jiraiya must have been inspired by the interrogation chambers of Konoha's underground.

Her breath formed distinct clouds in the air, curling outward and dissipating just as quickly. She didn't know how long she was in the room, awake and driving herself insane. She longed to rub her sore shoulders and wrists but contented herself with the thought that she couldn't possibly have failed if she was locked up like this.

Her teeth began chattering at this point, driving her already cold body into further convulsions in an attempt to conserve heat. Sakura was not impressed. She could do without being slowly driven to hypothermia in a chamber that she knew had been used to horrifically maim and kill countless shinobi.

She started as the door at the other end of the room opened, its metal hinges shrieking. She imagined that it was probably quite similar to the sounds that were made within the chamber as well.

"Hello," a man greeted from the doorway, his hard eyes meeting Sakura's own determined gaze. He was plain, unremarkable. He was the kind of person that you didn't remember, someone that blends into a crowd. Sakura had no experience with this unless under a henge, however, so she looked at the man with mild jealousy.

He was middle aged, scarred, and reminiscent of Ibiki Morino. He could have been his brother and she wouldn't have been surprised. Although anyone that held a special interest in pain usually looked about the same.

She wasn't surprised when he wheeled in a cart full of tools used for torture, nor was she surprised when he stood in silence, staring her down.

This was just the intimidation step that she usually skipped altogether. How easy was it to be intimidating when you were average height and had pink hair. She hoped her children, if she had any, did not inherit pink hair. She didn't know how her father managed to grow up as a boy with pink hair. She wondered how her brother was growing up with pink hair too.

Seeing that her spirit had not wavered, not that he expected it to, he finally began to speak. "You have some vital information―" She rolled her eyes at this. "―that we must acquire. And you _will_ tell me. What was in the scroll?"

She met his question with determined silence. His eyes narrowed and she found her head facing the wall and stars in her vision. He'd backhanded her so fast that it took her a second to understand why her face hurt so much. Turning her head back, she felt hot liquid dribble down her chin and knew at once that she was bleeding.

"Fuck you," she growled, meeting his eyes once more. Her eyes looked almost grey in the dim lighting and flashed like steel as her anger became more and more apparent.

This time she found her eyes looking at the other wall as the sound of yet another backhand filled the room. She felt her cheeks swelling up as she bit back another curse.

Her better instincts lost as she mumbled out an insult. He remained passive as he stared at her. "I will ask you once more, Haruno Sakura. Do not attempt to resist. What was written in the scroll?"

Spitting blood onto the floor, Sakura mulled over her options.

Settling with a good reply, she smirked. "Isn't it dangerous to use your entire vocabulary in a single sentence?"

This time the smack was so hard that she blacked out for a few seconds.

"Do not test me. What was written in the scroll?" She gave him props for remaining stoic, but she was hoping that someone was watching through the mirror and getting a kick out of it. She was once more hanging by her arms after blacking out, and she brought her right leg forward to push herself to her feet when she found a leg flashing across her vision. He kicked her in the knee, causing her leg to buckle as she fell back to her knees.

She hissed in pain. He wasn't gentle about it either. She knew that he would likely switch to genjutsu tactics soon and save physical pain for later. It was the usual practice of nations with genjutsu users, simply because it was a lot easier to accidentally kill an opponent when you were physically hurting them than it was when you were mentally torturing them.

Sakura steeled herself for more pain. She knew a few kicks and slaps were nothing compared to what she was going to face.

"I see that you will not cooperate. I will give you one more chance before I begin to _extract_ information. What was written in the scroll?"

He stared at her, waiting for an answer he knew wouldn't come.

Sakura watched as he walked calmly to the cart and pulled a bucket out from the bottom of it, carrying it over to her. He walked behind her and she swallowed with some difficulty, her body tensing with anticipation of what would be coming next. He was about to up the heat, she knew. She also knew how creative interrogators could get. She tried to concentrate on what making it through the torture would mean but it was hard to find the strength to defend such trivial information.

She felt him splash some of the liquid on her feet, the smell alerting her to exactly what was going to happen. She squeezed her eyes shut in anticipation and clenched her teeth, waiting for the inevitable.

She screamed through her teeth as flames ignited the liquid coating her feet. She could feel her flesh peeling and blackening as they did their work. All her muscles clenched in pain as she writhed, trying to escape from the horrible reality she was experiencing.

And then like that, it was gone. She opened her eyes, a thick layer of sweat coating her body. The intense pain she'd been feeling in her feet was now gone. Sakura wiggled her toes experimentally, but they were fine. Her heart was still racing, trying to escape from the confines of her chest.

Sakura met the man's eyes, taking in the smug satisfaction, and knew at once that he had used genjutsu on her. It had felt so real that she was shaken. She let a small whimper escape as she thought about what was to come. She wasn't sure if she could do it. They would exhaust her with mental torture and then if that was futile, they would move on to real pain.

But she was here to protect. She was here to serve her village and to save lives. Self sacrifice was important and she knew that it would be worth it. She wouldn't be here forever and she wouldn't let them win.

"Are you ready to tell me what I want to hear, _Sakura_?"

She had to push past her fears, past her limitations. She was here to become one of the elite and she was going to finish this.

"Fuck you," she spat, a fire igniting in her gaze. "I have the Will of Fire, and you can't break me."

* * *

Kakashi blinked slowly as he opened his eyes. It took him some time to adjust to the light. He was dazed and confused. He eventually had the sense to see that he was in the hospital. A pounding headache alerted him to the reason why he was lying in a hospital bed. He groaned, holding a hand to his head. Struggling to remember what had happened, he closed his eyes.

He remembered telling Sakura and Sai the information they needed to stall for time and distract them. The mission had been a trick mostly anyways. They were going to be captured and torture tested regardless of the outcome of their mission. Although a few unlucky participants that had not shown skill or had been incapacitated early on had not advanced.

Kakashi realized that Sakura had concussed him when she knocked him out cold. She was definitely scary when angry. He knew that they were likely still being interrogated. Ignoring the fact that he was supposed to stay in bed due to his head injury, he got up and checked his clothing over. They hadn't touched him, it seemed. His shirt was still ripped―he rolled his eyes at that―and it seemed like they hadn't gotten a chance to heal him or anything. His head injury must've been relatively mild if they had left him without treatment other than the bandage he felt.

Sakura really was a beast.

Feeling the urge to see how his ragtag team of students were doing, he staggered out of the room and down the hall. He breathed a sigh of relief as he saw that he was on the first floor and relatively close to the exit.

It took some concentration to straighten out his coordination enough to walk normally, but he made it out of the hospital without any objections. He made his way slowly but surely to the interrogation chambers, almost blinded by the sunlight as he made the journey. He was feeling fairly sick as he reached the entrance, nodding to the guards. They asked him if he was alright as he staggered through the door. All it took was the excuse of getting hit in the head by Sakura's fist for two sympathetic acceptances to be uttered by the guards.

He was worried about them. Naruto was a very determined boy. He could take anything that was thrown at him if he had a good enough reason to. He had suffered enough growing up that he figured there wouldn't be much pain he experienced in the chambers that he hadn't already felt something similar to.

Sasuke was just as stubborn. Really, all his students were. But that didn't mean that they could all withstand torture. It sure as hell didn't mean that they didn't feel pain. He didn't like the idea of any of his comrades hurting, let alone his students.

Shikamaru was on duty, he noted as he finished the descent into the interrogation chambers. A long hall with multiple rooms on either side made up the place. Beside each door was a large window that he knew appeared to be a mirror from within the chamber itself. This wouldn't fool anyone, he knew, but that wasn't its function.

Kakashi stopped when he reached Shikamaru in his raccoon mask. "Ah, Shikamaru," he greeted pleasantly, looking around. "Are they still interrogating the recruits?"

Nodding, Shikamaru spoke. "Yeah, there are a few left. Sasuke and Naruto are already done. They're at the hospital actually. Sai just finished, I think, and Sakura has something like ten minutes left." He shrugged, lifting his mask. "Sakura is in chamber eight. Ah, I see they're taking Sai out now."

Turning back, Kakashi saw that Sai was in fact emerging from the chamber. They were carrying him out on a stretcher and he looked pretty bad. His clothes were torn and he was covered in more blood than looked strictly necessary, but he seemed to still be breathing so that meant he'd passed.

Kakashi made his way to chamber eight, almost afraid to look. He hated the fact that he wa a bit surprised that Sakura had lasted so long. Steeling himself, he looked through the window. There was another person standing beside him, probably an evaluator.

He felt his muscles tense up as he saw the body of his student, limp in the chains holding her up. Her head hung low, half of its pretty pink hair drenched with blood. A steady stream of blood dripped from somewhere on her unseen face. Whatever skin was clear of blood was black and blue from being senselessly beaten. He thought she was unconscious at first, but deep down he knew that she had to be awake because there was no way they would let her stay that way. The man inside the chamber grabbed her by the hair and yanked her head back, exposing a nearly unrecognizable face. It was swollen and bruised, one eye black and closed.

Kakashi felt sick looking at her. She looked far worse than Sai had. "You know, they had to switch to physical torture a lot sooner than usual with her," the man next to him said, a hint of praise in his words. "She began to see through and break their genjutsu too much for it to be really effective anymore."

Seeing the state of his student, Kakashi felt overwhelmingly impressed. She certainly was stronger than anyone ever gave her credit for. Sakura was always viewed as the weakest one, the weakest link. But Kakashi could see that she was just as strong as any of them. She deserved to be recognized for this and yet she never was.

Kakashi didn't recognize the torturer and assumed it was a henge. He cringed as the man cut the chain attached to her wrist cuffs. She collapsed to the ground, shivering. Whether in fear or because of the temperature, he couldn't tell. She cried out as the man kicked her in the stomach, sending her flying a few feet. And yet each time he asked her what was in the scroll, she refused to tell him.

Anger boiled up after witnessing the brutal beating she was enduring.

"That's enough," he turned to the door, ready to stop the interrogation. "She's clearly proven herself."

A hand on his shoulder stopped him. He resisted the urge to stab the hand with a kunai as he turned to look at the man. "She has five minutes left, you can't. If you do, she will not pass."

As much as he wanted to rescue her, he knew that she would never forgive him.

"I know you think you're doing her a favour, but she doesn't need your help." Kakashi nodded stiffly at his words, fully understanding what he meant. He couldn't do that to her. He really couldn't.

Unfortunately, he could hear everything going on in the chamber. He wondered why he thought it was a good idea to come here when he had to listen to his student's screams of pain. When he had to watch tears stream down her cheeks, visible only because it was washing the blood away.

The stench of blood was tangible, its metallic ring stuck in his nose. He couldn't watch but he couldn't look away either. It felt like an eternity. Standing, watching, waiting.

How could he be standing here doing nothing?

And yet he knew it was impossible to do anything to help her.

* * *

Sakura had never felt so much pain at one time. Everything ached and burned and just _hurt so much_. She couldn't help the tears flowing down her face. She could barely see anymore. Slipping in and out of consciousness, she screamed with each hit. Reality and fantasy seemed to merge into an endless stream of pain. She had no idea how long she'd been there, but it felt like forever.

She was starting to feel numb. All the pain was surface level for the most part. As much as they wanted to simulate a real torture scenario, they didn't want to cause too much damage that couldn't be readily fixed. She'd come so close to begging for mercy, to quitting. She just wanted it all to end. Countless times, she'd thought that she wasn't strong enough, that she couldn't make it through the endless montage of agony. But she had pulled herself through it. She concentrated on everyone that she wanted to protect. She ran a continuous stream of the faces of all of her friends, of the villagers that made Konoha home.

She got her strength from her real family, from the people that would die for her and the people she would die for. She knew the only thing stronger than fear and pain was love. She focused on the things she loved and she somehow managed to pull herself through each bout of excruciating pain.

But now, she was getting close to the breaking point. She just wanted it to end, she wanted it to just stop. She had never wanted something so tangibly and passionately. She felt such a strong need for it, like a thirst she needed quenched more than anything.

She tensed as the man halted his onslaught. This usually meant that the pain would come once more but intensified. As the seconds ticked by, nothing happened. Whimpering, she dragged her arms along the floor until they were underneath her. Pushing weakly, she managed to sit up, shaking heavily. It took all of her effort to look up.

The man she'd come to hate with a passion was gone and the room was empty. She watched as the door opened and in walked Morino Ibiki and Kakashi. Ibiki offered her a grim smile. "You have passed the final test. You are now a member of Konoha's elite ANBU." He nodded and exited the room.

Kakashi walked up to her gingerly. His one visible eye crinkled as he smiled. "Congratulations, Sakura." He stepped aside as a stretcher was brought in to take her to the hospital.

They unlocked the handcuffs, removing them from her wrists carefully. With a shaky hand, she wiped blood from her swollen face. She sent one of the brightest smiles he'd ever seen from her at her sensei, her happiness apparent. She whispered a gentle "I did it!" before her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she collapsed.

Kakashi had never been so proud.

* * *

So, that was really hard to write. Feel free to leave a comment on it, I want to know what you guys think! Thank you for reading.


	8. wonder is man's desire to understand

Hey, guys! So so sorry about the wait! I promise that I did not mean to wait this long. I just got so caught up in getting ready for university and then making the adjustment once I got there! I am excited to say that this chapter is extra long, however, and hopefully gives you a couple more kakasaku glimpses. Thank you guys for your reviews!

She blinked once, twice, then held her eyes shut once more. Finding the energy to finally pry them open for good, she saw that she was in a hospital bed. She watched as each individual dust mote caught in the light, flickering in and out of existence as quickly as her eyes found them. Her brain felt fuzzy and dazed. A glowing hand found its way to her head and she realized that she was not, in fact, alone. Turning, she focused on the man healing her. Short auburn hair drooped downwards slightly as he focused on his work.

"Hikaru-kun?" Sakura murmured softly, wondering why he would be on rounds.

"Ah, Sakura-chan," he greeted her warmly, eyes brightening as he spoke.

Squirming until she was sitting up, she saw that she was, for the most part, healed. She knew that any medic would have healed cuts that would leave a scar or damage her function physically and any other serious injuries first. Any bruises would be left alone for the most part.

He seemed to stare awkwardly for a moment before continuing to apply healing chakra.

Sakura grinned widely as she remembered why she was there.

"I know I _really_ shouldn't be saying this—but I just made ANBU! I'm so excited!" Sobering up, she blushed sheepishly. "What are you doing here, anyways?" He returned her enthusiasm and chuckled as he began to wrap her arm with bandages.

"Congratulations, Sakura-chan! I just got here, actually. Shizune-san had pretty much finished when Hokage-sama called her away. So she called for someone else to finish up here. I was just finishing my shift in the lab, so I volunteered. I heard you were pretty roughed up," he smiled.

Scratching the back of her head self-consciously, Sakura smiled. "Yeah, I'll admit that I feel pretty rough, too."

He finished with her arm, lightly running his fingers over his work. Examining the bandages on her other arm, he set it down gently. Sakura liked being the one pampered, she found. Oftentimes she was the one healing herself so she rarely got to see herself in this situation.

Hikaru gave her a satisfied smile. "Well, that's it. I guess you can probably heal the rest yourself," he began to rise as he spoke, brushing off imaginary dust from his pants.

Disappointed that he was going to leave, Sakura quickly spoke up. "No! You don't have to go, Hikaru-kun! Well, you know, I was enjoying talking to you…" She blushed, looking away. "Well, I, uh, I'm sorry! You can go if you like..."

He looked surprised as he lowered himself back down into the chair. "I'd like to stay, actually." He smiled back at her, more confidence in himself than he'd had previously. "How did the examination go?"

He admired the way her eyes lit up. She was so animated when she spoke, so lively and youthful. Although she was very mature, she still held a treasure trove of innocence and purity. Like a magnet, she drew others with such a powerful force of attraction. He couldn't resist getting caught up in the pull.

"Well, the written exam was very easy, actually," she said with a smug smile, laughing as she continued. "I have no idea how Naruto managed to get the top mark, though."

"No way, Naruto-san?!" He cut in loudly, the shock evident. Although Naruto was admired by all in the village, he was also their resident fool. "I can't imagine that being possible…"

Laughter still ringing like sweet bells from her throat, she continued. "I felt the same way! I thought that the physical aspect was a little too easy until we were captured." She rolled her eyes. "But now I can see that nobody was supposed to make it out without being captured. We all had to undergo interrogation resilience testing." Her laughter died as her thoughts flashed back to the terrible time she spent in the chamber. She had never felt such pain before. Shivering, she turned to look at Hikaru. She wanted to avoid thinking about it at all cost.

He was looking at her with admiration. "I don't think that I could do it, to be completely honest." He looked a little put out as he spoke. "I'm not like you, Sakura-chan. You're so strong."

Sakura felt indignant. It was flattering, but he had to know that not everyone had the same strengths. He was smart and capable as a medical ninja, and he did his best work in a lab.

"That's so not true, Hikaru-kun! You're valuable just the way you are! Not all of us are made to do the same things. Your strength is not defined by mine," she grinned. "And my strength is not defined by anyone else's. If I based my strength on Naruto's, I wouldn't be very strong at all, would I?"

He smiled sheepishly, scratching his head. "Yeah, I guess you're right, Sakura-chan."

They shared a small smile, meek and gentle. Their natures were very similar. They cared a lot about other people. You had to if you wanted to be involved in the medical community. Sakura's personality was more dominant, more confident. She had been willing to stay in the background and play a character in someone else's story for so long but now she was ready to be the main character in her own tale. It seemed that Hikaru was content to feature in other people's stories. He was different in that regard. He clearly had passion for his job, but didn't have the drive that propelled Sakura into greatness. Nor her incredible talent not only in a lab but also in the field.

Sakura found that she enjoyed his company greatly. He was calming and relaxing. She rarely found that in people. Her own group of friends were all domineering personalities. Save for Shikamaru and Shino, of course. She enjoyed the change.

She was about to question his work in the lab when Kakashi's head peeked in through the door.

"Yo," he waved, his one visible eye looking over the unknown man in the room.

"Ah, Kakashi!" Sakura shot him a sly grin. "How's your head feeling?"

"It feels horrible, Sakura. Thank you," he spoke, exasperation evident.

"Oh, this is Yoshida Hikaru. Hikaru-kun, this is Hatake Kakashi." She introduced the two, a slight blush adorning her newly healed cheeks.

Each of them looked at each other, eyeing the new acquaintance up. Kakashi was the first to speak. "Ah, nice to meet you, Hikaru-san."

Hikaru was quick to jump to his feet, hurriedly bowing. "It's an honour to meet you, Hatake-san!" Sakura could sense the amusement in Kakashi's gaze as he sheepishly scratched his head.

"Kakashi-san is fine, I'm not that self-righteous," he waved him off, his eye crinkling in a friendly smile. Although Kakashi was being polite, Sakura knew that the spotlight was something he would rather be out of.

Nodding, Hikaru quickly excused himself. He gave Sakura a friendly goodbye and practically tripped over himself trying to be respectful to the copy nin.

Laughing once he was out of earshot, Sakura turned to her former teacher. "You really are intimidating. We were afraid of you for the first few days, too."

Looking perplexed, he shrugged. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Sakura. I have always been friendly to everyone. Why would anyone be scared of an old man like me?"

At this, she laughed harder. "Oh Kami, be quiet. You are the biggest liar I have ever met."

Catching his smile underneath the mask, she grinned with him.

"How are you feeling?" He asked tentatively, knowing all too well that she was probably feeling like shit.

"Well," she winced, "my muscles are sore and I'm bruised all over, but for the most part, I'm good."

"Sakura…"

"I don't think I'll ever want to go into those chambers again in my life, too, but I'll be fine." She smiled softly, looking down. "I keep seeing his smug face when I close my eyes. I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight after that."

Kakashi stared at her, somber. "Yes, well, it'll get better, easier. And you never will see his face again, you know. It was a genjutsu."

"I'll likely experience it for real at some point anyways."

He couldn't dispute her on that. ANBU was hard, it was dangerous, and it didn't have the best outcomes. "That was real too, you know. I hope you realize the strength in it."

"Anyways," she shook off both him and the dark mood quickly, ready to move on. "What did you want?"

Blinking, he seemed to remember his reason for coming there. "Oh, yeah. I was just going to come get Team Seven. All of you passed―congratulations by the way―and you need to meet at ANBU headquarters. I'll escort you guys there."

Brightening, Sakura jumped out of bed, excitement shining in her sea green eyes. Kakashi gave her appearance a once-over and coughed, giving her a pointed look. She glanced down, a blush staining her cheeks as she realized the state of her clothing. It was dirty, ripped, and stained with her blood. Her chest bindings looked nearly black and were visible through the holes in her shirt.

"Ah, I don't have any spare clothes…" she mumbled, embarrassed.

Chuckling, Kakashi held out a bag towards her. "Shizune passed these to me, actually. I'll just wait outside." She grasped the bag to her chest gratefully.

"Thank you, Kakashi…"

"No problem, Sakura."

As the door clicked shut, Sakura rummaged through the clothes. Shizune had stopped by her house, evidently, but had grabbed the first things she'd seen. Which happened to be an unused push-up bra and matching set of panties, a low cut white t-shirt, and a mini skirt. Sighing, she made her way into the bathroom to freshen up. Using the sink to wash her face and get most of the blood out of her hair, she finally pulled it into a high ponytail and got changed. She threw her new clothes on, checking her appearance out in the mirror.

Except for the excessive amount of cleavage and the bandages, she looked fine. She made her way out of the room, smiling at her sensei as he leaned against the wall with one of Jiraiya's older books in his hand. "You look better," he remarked and she responded by sticking her tongue out at him. Seeing her eyes glance at the book in his hand, he raised his single visible eyebrow, amusement clear.

He laughed, falling into step beside her as they made their way to the lobby. She twitched in annoyance, her face colouring as they walked. Naruto, Sai, and Sasuke were waiting for them there, leaning against the wall. As soon as Naruto saw her, he swept her into a hug, swinging her around in a circle before letting her land. His grin could have cracked his face if it had been any bigger. "We did it, Sakura-chan!" She returned his enthusiasm with her own big grin, a softer hug repaying him for his affection. She looked to find that Sasuke had his own characteristic smirk marring his face. The happiness in his eyes betrayed him as he tried to dart out of the way of a hug from Sakura.

"Sasuke, you big brute!" She laughed, finally managing to sweep all of them into a big hug. "We're finally the top of the top!"

"Sakura-chan, I have learned that I am morally obligated to point out that I was able to see quite clearly your underwear when Naruto spun you around in celebration," Sai piped up, squashing her good mood.

A smack to the head by a fuming Sakura ended that train of thought, leaving Sai to murmur his wonder at her anger.

Politely looking away, Kakashi attempted to stifle his laughter, cutting it off as he noticed Sakura's fiery glare.

"Anyways, I guess I should congratulate you four. It's a big deal to become ANBU, especially so young. Although, I was only—"

" _Kakashi_ ," Sakura growled, spurring him on.

"Ah, yes, right. Well, I guess I'm here to escort you to ANBU headquarters. You will be able to use a teleportation jutsu once you are tattooed and have the seal placed in it. Then you may teleport to headquarters from anywhere within the village's limits. You may or may not be able to from outside the village, but I wouldn't recommend trying. Ninja tend to leave parts behind when they try from too far away." He sobered up, making sure that they were aware of their limits. He was sure that none of them were stupid enough to try it, but he wanted it to be clear. They could lose a finger, a toe, an arm, or even separate their bodies into halves trying from an unsafe distance.

Sakura took this time to eye up each of her boys. Looking a bit worse for wear, they had matching bandages and bruises, their arms covered in white wrappings just as hers were. As Kakashi took a step towards the door, he looked a little woozy, his body leaning to one side dramatically before he corrected herself. She had noticed the bandages wrapping around his head but hadn't thought too much about it. Remembering her blow to his head, she knew she had concussed him and he was probably feeling the effects.

Following the man out of the hospital, Sakura hopped a few quick steps to catch up with him.

"Sorry about your head, you know," she murmured, her gaze downturn.

He turned to look at her, the telltale eye crinkle revealing his mirth. "It's no problem, Sakura," he replied. "Although, my head _really_ does hurt."

Smiling, she stretched upwards to lay a hand on the side of his head. Letting her hand glow, she began to heal the bruises on his brain, alleviating the effects of the injury. A tiny stream of blood exited, held in place in a bubble of green chakra. When a small ball had formed, she pulled her hand away, satisfied.

"Good as new," she said, letting the ball of blood fall on the ground.

Kakashi could hardly understand her. Her talent as a medical ninja was so easily brushed aside, and yet here she was able to heal a brain injury while walking along on a casual sunny day. And at the opposite side of the spectrum, here she was able to inflict the brain injury just as easily. Not only could she concuss someone, but she could control herself to the point where she could incapacitate a man with one punch to the skull, leaving no cracks or serious damage. She exhibited so much control that it was hard to ignore. She really was someone not to be trifled with. It was downright frightening to say the least.

Chuckling nervously, he thanked her. Reaching the Hokage Tower, he led them inside.

He showed them down the stairs to the basement level of the tower, used mostly for storage. Leading them to a circle on the floor, a few kanji symbols written in the centre, and signalled that they stand still. Pulling his ANBU mask over his face, he made two hand signs and they slipped through the floor like water, landing in a large circular room below. The walls were plain, torches spaced out evenly enough to create a fairly well-lit room. Four corridors led out of the room, branching at even intervals from each other into a gradual slope downwards, leading further and further into the ground. Looking at the other faces scattered throughout the crowd, she saw some of her friends. Tenten, Ino, Neji, and Hinata were among the crowd, standing out considerably as they lacked the necessary ANBU garb. There were four other ninja that were older than them and Sakura only recognized them from the examination.

Sharing grins between each other, they turned to face forward just like the other ANBU operatives were doing. Shikamaru had made it into ANBU when he was seventeen and neither Choji nor Kiba had discrete enough techniques to have attempted the exam in the first place.

Morino Ibiki emerged from the corridor directly in front of them, eyeing up the crowd. Tsunade followed shortly after, her face stern and holding all the dignity of her position.

"We are not here to congratulate you, recruits. By the end of your first assignment, you may even be begging to be put back on the jounin roster." Tsunade kept her gaze level, her voice devoid of kindness. "Nevertheless, it is a special privilege to be chosen as one of the village's elite. Serve me well and I will serve you well in return."

Nodding, Ibiki picked up where she left off. "First, you will make your oaths to the Hokage," he said, the scars of his face jumping out in the flickering of the torches. "Then the tattoos will be placed on your skin, marking you as one of us. And finally, the Hokage will bestow upon you a mask to hide your identity to all but your closest allies."

Nodding, Tsunade looked them straight on. "Repeat after me," she said, taking a deep breath. All who were in the room crossed a closed fist over their hearts, staring ahead in anticipation. "I swear by the Will of Fire, on the honour of those that I serve."

" _I swear by the Will of Fire, on the honour of those that I serve._ " They chorused her words out in unison, a deep sense of duty overcoming them.

"I swear that I will put my nation, village, comrades, and Hokage before myself."

Tsunade had said the speech many times, but she could not help the goosebumps she experienced every time she had to perform the ceremony.

" _I swear that I will put my nation, village, comrades, and Hokage before myself_."

"I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to the Hokage, and her successors."

" _I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to the Hokage, and her successors."_

"I will, as in duty bound, honestly and faithfully defend the Hokage, the village, and her successors with my life and liberty against all enemies."

" _I will, as in duty bound, honestly and faithfully defend the Hokage, the village, and her successors with my life and liberty against all enemies_."

"I will observe and obey all orders of the Hokage, her successors, and of the shinobi and presiding ninja set over me."

" _I will observe and obey all orders of the Hokage, her successors, and of the shinobi and presiding ninja set over me_."

At last, everyone came together to say the last line with her, having known it since infancy.

" _The fire on the leaves will eventually burn greater and stronger. It will flash its light and protect this village_."

Nodding once, Tsunade dismissed them from their position, watching as they pulled their arms from their chests, opting to hold them taught against their sides. Seeing her student in the crowd, she was overwhelmed with pride. She knew how tough it would be on Sakura, but she knew that she would make it and serve her village in immeasurable ways.

"Now that we have finished the oath, we can get onto business." Ibiki pulled out a small stack of white pieces of paper. Each one had the characteristic swirl of the ANBU tattoo.

He gestured for each of the recruits to line up. Naruto pushed his way to the front of the line, a grin on his face. Pulling the bandages wrapped around his left arm down, he bared his shoulder to Ibiki. He stood still, awaiting its placement. Ibiki placed a slip of paper on his shoulder, orienting it for a moment, before gathering chakra and placing his palm upon the paper. A red light surged out from under his hand and Naruto visibly flinched. It took a moment before Ibiki finally pulled away, inspecting his work.

Slowly, each of the twelve recruits were branded. Sakura was last, and having had time to steel herself, was proud that she had not flinched when the bite of the tattoo hit her. It was an odd feeling, one of pulling and pushing as it was burned into her skin. It sucked chakra out of her and pushed chakra into her, something Sakura figured had to do with the teleportation jutsu. After he released her, she felt hr arm tentatively, wondering if it would feel as tender as she thought it would. She sucked in a sharp breath, a hiss of air releasing from between her teeth as she tried to wish away the pain. She was definitely healing it after they left.

Sakura steeled herself for what came next. She was hoping that she didn't get a stupid mask and codename like rat. Although there already was a rat operative, so she knew that name was taken at least. Going through a list of ANBU agents that she remembered, she compiled a list of names that were taken. Itachi was Weasel, of course, Kakashi had a wolf mask, Genma was Monkey, and Yamato was Cat. She knew several others including Ox, Hawk, Snake, Oni, Rat, and Rabbit. That left plenty for the rest of them, yet she was still worried that she would get a less than desirable codename.

Ibiki began to call for them in alphabetical order.

"Abe, Ryuu."

One of the unknown recruits stepped forward, kneeling before the intimidating man. Ibiki pulled out a scroll, unravelling it gently and letting it trail on the ground. Finding the seal that he was looking for, he placed a palm on it and reached into the scroll, grasping the mask and pulling it out. The mask resembled a horned sheep of some sort. Ibiki slid the mask on the man's face then beckoned for him to stand up. "I present Ram, ANBU agent."

Stepping back into the crowd, he took his place with the experienced ANBU members.

"Goda, Hana." A slim but tall girl made her way to the front, long almost white hair trailing down her back. She kneeled down dutifully, looking up at the man expectantly. Ibiki repeated the process, pulling out a leopard mask.

"Haruno, Sakura." Swallowing nervously, she made her way up to the front. Kneeling, she squeezed her eyes shut, sending up a quick prayer for something cool.

"I present ANBU operative Tiger."

Sakura grinned beneath the mask. Although it felt foreign and strange, she was glad that she had received a good name.

Hinata was next. She became Mouse.

Neji was proclaimed Crow, Sai became Owl, Tenten was dubbed Bear, and Sasuke received Dragon. Sakura knew he would be smug about the name.

Naruto was given a lion mask, and Ino was given a fox mask. The other two recruits, now known as Matsubara Kazuo and Nakada Tarou, each were given wolverine and badger masks, respectively.

Ibiki cleared his throat, once more gaining their attention. "Please pick up your ANBU standardized uniform before you leave. You will receive your team placements as soon as possible. Likely by tomorrow. When you are summoned, you will dress as an operative and do the following signs," at this, he paused to demonstrate. "When you channel chakra into the tattoo, you will be pulled, or _teleported_ to this room. You are dismissed."

"Ne, Kakashi-sensei, how do we get out of here?" Naruto asked, scratching the back of his head. Sakura smiled, touching her hand softly to the porcelain mask. It felt surreal to be there with her best friends, to be one of the best that Konoha had to offer.

Kakashi sighed, signalling with his hand that they should follow him. They followed him obediently down one of the halls, allowing him to lead them through numerous twists and turns. Finally, they arrived at a staircase. They followed him up the steps until they reached the top. An doorway into another staircase stood before them.

"This is one of the staircases in the hospital!" Sakura exclaimed, surprised. Kakashi nodded.

"Henge yourselves into an ANBU uniform, please. There is a genjutsu on the other side. A very elaborate genjutsu. Most are unaware that this isn't just another wall on one of the landings. Those that figured it out are already in ANBU or are jounin themselves." He nodded and led them through the door and up the stairs to the main level.

Sakura groaned. "Why didn't we just go this way in the first place?"

Waving over his shoulder as he started walking away, Kakashi shrugged. "The other way is cooler."

"Oh no you don't!" Naruto crowed, grabbing Kakashi by the arm. Sasuke was quick to grab the other limb.

"You really didn't think that we'd let you get away without celebrating with us, did you?" Sasuke smirked, his constant stream of smugness audible as he taunted the older man.

"Ooh, let's go to the Tipsy Leaf," Sakura grinned, shooing the boys forward. "I'll make sure the others know to go there."

"I'm far too old for this," Kakashi protested, pretending to suddenly have back pain.

Naruto laughed, punching him in the side. "Kakashi-sensei, you're only in your thirties!"

Looking glum, he responded. "Don't remind me."

Sakura laughed, skipping ahead. "I'll meet you guys there! I have to go get changed," she said, looking down at her outfit distastefully.

Sai, having been mostly silent, decided to join in the conversation. "I have been researching the act of celebration and I do not understand why we choose to put harmful substances into our bodies and sleep with morally ambiguous strangers to celebrate a promotion."

Leaving the others to explain, Sakura headed home, pooling green chakra into her hand to heal the leftover cuts and alleviate the pain from the ANBU mark. She felt kind of bad about the process of removing the blood pooling in the bruises and leaving it on the street so she waited until she got to her apartment to finish up. There weren't many medical ninja that were able to completely heal a bruise. Although seemingly one of the simplest injuries, it was more complicated than that. Blood had to literally be removed from the body to completely heal a bruise and many were not able to control their chakra to the level that was required. It was just another thing that set Sakura far above the rest.

She peeled off the rest of the bandages and clothing she had on, running the water in her bathtub until it was full. Before she got in, she finished healing the rest of what she hadn't seen before and slowly sank into the water. Scrubbing at her hair, she watched with satisfaction as the water got slightly pink. Taking a moment to enjoy the warmth, she sank down until just her nose was above the water line. Sakura was exhausted from the day's events, but she was glad that she had done it. Now she had another reason to be proud of herself, another argument against her uselessness.

She was glad to scrub the evidence away as well. As much as she wanted to ignore it, the six hours she spent in that interrogation chamber had been a living nightmare. Her fists clenched at the thought of it. She would have nightmares for weeks and she knew it. Just thinking of the man's face, smug yet devoid of almost any emotion. It was a good henge, and it had gotten to her. Even now, his face was slipping from her mind, it's plainness allowing him to remain somewhat anonymous.

Closing her eyes, Sakura jolted. Her mind may have tricked her into thinking that she was forgetting his face, but there it was, just behind her eyelids, burned into her like the tattoo she'd received. She jumped to her feet and removed the plug, watching as the murky water drained. Wrapping herself in a towel, she continued to watch.

Her shoulders began to shake uncontrollably. Her vision blurred as tears dripped down her face. Collapsing to the floor, she sniffled and attempted to wipe the tears away. Hiccupping, she bawled. She couldn't fight back the sobs she was releasing, try as she might. Her face hurt with the effort of holding herself back. Curling into a ball, she laid her wet face on the cool tile and continued to sob, tears pooling on the floor. She never wanted to think about what had happened there ever again and yet it wouldn't leave her mind. She could still feel the hot poker that he'd driven into her side. She still felt every kick and every punch. Her cuts and burns may have been erased from her body but they were as fresh as ever in her mind.

Kakashi hated being forced into attending things. He forced himself to go to his teammates' birthdays. And they rewarded him by forcing him to go to everyone else's celebrations. But, then again, Naruto had offered to pay for his alcohol in order to placate him so he had free drinks at the very least. The Tipsy Leaf wasn't his sort of establishment. For the most part, it was too loud. And on weekends it was more of a club than a bar. Being that it was not, in fact, the weekend, the music was relatively normal. It was too loud for his tastes nonetheless.

That was really how he knew that he was getting too old. He was complaining about how loud music was.

Sipping on his shochu, an unknown brand that he'd never even heard of before, he looked around. Sakura hadn't shown up yet so it was just him and the boys.

"Have you fucked her yet, Dobe?" Sasuke smirked, leaning in as Naruto went red.

Kakashi was confused. Was Naruto sexually active?

"That is none of your business, Teme!" Naruto squeaked, face turning just as red as Hinata's did.

Sai looked perplexed for a moment before responding. "Your courtship of Hinata-san appears to be going well. Although I see no evidence that you engaged in coitus, a sign of a stable relationship."

Sasuke laughed, turning to Naruto again. "What good is a girlfriend if you don't even have sex?"

"Where's your girlfriend, Sasuke?" Kakashi piped up, watching with amusement as Sasuke blushed, turning away. "I thought so."

Naruto burst into laughing, pointing and teasing his friend. When Kakashi looked up, he saw Sakura enter, looking lively and refreshed. Her hair was still slightly damp, the ends of her bubble gum pink tresses curling up slightly. She was wearing a simple yellow sundress, all traces of her injuries gone. She sidled up next to him, flashing a smile.

"I called Ino and she said she'd get everyone else to come." Waving her hand at the bartender, she leaned forward, giving the man an ample eye of cleavage. He responded right away, eyes never leaving her perky breasts.

"Can I get three porn stars?" He nodded, giving her a flirty smile.

Kakashi nearly rolled his eyes. "You're here to celebrate, take it easy."

Sakura looked down for a moment before she returned his gaze, a cheerful smile on her face. "That's what I'm doing, isn't it?"

Choosing his battles wisely, he left it at that. Downing the rest of his can of shochu, he waved for another. "You guys were good out there," he murmured, taking a drink out of the fresh can.

"I knew we could do it," she said carefully, a small dig at her sensei.

Smiling, he tousled her hair with his hand.

"I didn't say that you couldn't, Sakura."

Eyeing him up, she noticed that he'd changed. She guessed that he'd gone home for a while. He wasn't supposed to parade around in his ANBU uniform in public.

"You know that you don't have to keep the bandages on your head, right?" She giggled at him, watching him reach up to touch the forgotten piece of cloth. He scratched his head sheepishly, his eye crinkling.

She used her own hand to gently unwrap his head, leaning over the counter to drop the wrappings in the garbage can she knew would be there.

"You must come here a lot," he said, watching.

Nodding, Sakura sat down once more. "Yeah, Ino loves to drag us here. The bartender gives all the girls discounts, so that goes a long way."

Laughing, he downed the rest of his drink, already feeling the effects. Two cans of shochu, and strong shochu at that, were enough to get him tipsy.

"Kakashi! That's 40%, you know," she whispered, outraged.

"Oh, I know."

Lining her shots up, she sent him a wicked smile. In a flash, she had downed all three. Waving her arm, she called for more.

Shaking his head, Kakashi could only watch in horror. "Don't you think you should slow down a bit?"

Rolling her eyes, she sent him a glare. "I'm not a _child_ , Kakashi. I'm not the Godaime's apprentice for no reason."

He shrugged it off. As much as he was still protective over his students, he couldn't argue with that. Sakura was a grown woman whether he liked it or not and it was fully within the realm of reason to get as sloshed as she wanted.

A large, rowdy crowd came into the bar, cheering when they caught sight of the group. The other new recruits, minus the four they didn't know, found their way to them, laughing and cheering each other on.

Ino giggled, sidling up next to Sakura. "We had some pre-drinks at my place."

Sakura laughed, her six shots having begun to take over. "You practically get free drinks here, Pig." At this, she laughed harder. "I wish you would've gotten the pig mask!" Ino scowled, but laughed after a moment.

Kakashi got up to leave, having had enough of the place. He was four cans of shochu down by now, and if he had more he was sure he would get entirely beyond control drunk.

"No, Kakashi!" Sakura grabbed his arm, a lopsided smile on her pleasantly drunk face.

His gaze fell down to where her breasts strained against the yellow sundress for a moment. He quickly looked away.

"Sakura!" Naruto crowed, grabbing her by the arm. Sakura laughed, hearing the song he was so excited about. It was collectively Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura's favourite song, and they had made a drunken pact to never not dance to it at a bar. Kakashi thought he was free, but Sakura's grip remained strong and he reluctantly followed them to the dance floor. It was less like a club song and a little bit slower than the bar's usual music, but he couldn't withhold a drunken fit of laughter at the sight of Naruto and Sasuke dancing together. Sasuke was evidently playing the lady, his hand atop Naruto's as they spun around the dancefloor.

Sakura laughed with him, grabbing his hand to place it on her waist. "C'mon, Kakashi… it's tradition!" She hiccupped, starting to lead. Resigning himself to this dance of utter embarrassment, he took over, lading her around the dancefloor. As his clan had been a relatively wealthy and established one, Kakashi had taken dance lessons for a short time as a child. He'd stopped once he graduated the academy, but he had always remembered the lessons.

Spinning Sakura around, he smiled at her. She was clearly enjoying herself immensely. In all honesty, he wasn't sure that he wasn't having fun himself. She gave him a tipsy smile as the song finished. Her eyes widening in surprise, she called out across the bar. "Hikaru-kun!" she greeted, her smile widening. Hikaru made his way towards the two, a smile lighting his features. He greeted the two of them, his eyes never leaving Sakura. She began to talk to him animatedly, effectively cutting Kakashi out. He watched the young man, sizing him up. He wondered the man's intentions and how worthy he was of his former student. He was skinny, obviously not in the peak physical condition of a field shinobi. He worked at the hospital, he knew, but he didn't know much else. He refused to admit his disappointment in ending the night.

Kakashi used this as a means to get out, downing the last sip of his can of shochu. He made his way out of the Tipsy Leaf, stumbling home in the dark. When he reached his place, he crawled into bed, knowing his hangover would be wicked the next day.

He found he couldn't sleep, however. Tossing and turning, he finally gave up. Opening the drawer in his bedside table, he retrieved the copy of Icha Icha Master, opening to the first page. He whispered an apology before he dove in, his eyes scanning each page with fervor.

"C'mon, Sakura-chan," Naruto held out his hand, dragging the girl with him and Sasuke to the door.

She protested, already well beyond her limit. Turning to Hikaru, she smiled. "Let's go for lunch tomorrow, Hikaru-kun!"

At this, he nodded. "I'd be happy to, Sakura-chan," he said with a smile. "I'll see you at the hospital at noon!"

She allowed her boys to drag her out of the pub, happy and serene. She blacked out for a moment, opening her eyes to find herself safe in bed. Letting loose a smile, her eyes fluttering shut once more.

All was good. All was well.

So, that's that! I'm so sorry for the wait. Feel free to leave a review!


	9. mystery grows wonder

Hey, guys! Sorry about the wait. I've been busy with classes and uni life! I got a particularly nasty review calling me a "pathetic fat virgin" which is like ok because I am none of those things. Not that there's anything wrong in being any of those things. Anyways I had a good chuckle at the troll and left the review up if you guys wanna take a look. Hope y'all enjoy this chapter.

* * *

Kakashi groaned, his arm tightening around the soft body at his side. He turned into the warmth eagerly. The wide expanse of his chest brushed against soft skin, a wisp of hair dusting his face. Shaking his head to free himself from the ticklish sensation, he pressed his lips against the tender neck nuzzled into his side. One hand lazily followed the curve of a spine, his hips angling towards the other's. As he gently sucked, a loud, deep groan filled the air.

Kakashi paused in horror at the thought that it most certainly was not him. Throwing himself out of bed, he looked down at the occupant left in the safety of his sheets. Growling, he sent the sleepy man onto the floor with a swift kick.

"Genma, _you fucking idiot_ ," he growled, eyes narrowed. Now fully awake, Genma leapt to his defense.

"Hey, what the fuck, man?" He groaned, rubbing his head gingerly. "I'm trying to fucking sleep!"

Kakashi jumped onto the bed, landing in a crouch, his hand closing around the younger man's neck. "I am going to strangle you." Kakashi spoke matter-of-factly, his single eye meeting Genma's wide gaze. Flailing wildly, Genma's body contorted agilely as he managed to twist to the point where he could get a leg around Kakashi's neck, flinging him off the bed. Kakashi landed on the hardwood, rolling a couple times before jumping to his feet. He ducked just in time to avoid a leg coming at his face with full force. Staying low, he moved closer to the man, straightening in a flash as he landed a punch to the man's face.

"You do _not_ lay in my bed with me. You are an absolute _idiot_ ," he growled, the embarrassment of almost giving Genma a hickey revealing in his anger.

Flipping backwards with the impact of the punch, Genma wiped the blood off the side of his mouth, eyes narrowing. "You're fucking psycho, man!"

Trading blows in Kakashi's room, the two nearly naked men added numerous bruises to their bodies. Kakashi landed a particularly brutal kick to the man's back, sending him into the floor roughly. He picked up the man, getting ready to throw him once more when a shadow standing in the doorway caused him to pause. He locked eyes with Itachi, a boyish shame leading to the dropping of his teammate. Itachi managed to make the older man feel as if he was younger. Kakashi liked to think that he was rather mature and in control of himself but Itachi made him feel like Naruto in comparison. He had Kakashi's respect.

"What are you two doing?" Itachi asked solemnly, a single eyebrow raised almost as if he was mocking them.

"H-he started it!" Genma protested, causing Kakashi to roll his eyes.

The smallest hint of a smile ghosted Itachi's lips. "And it seems that he was about to finish it as well," he murmured. "Looks like you need to work on your taijutsu, Genma. I know what to do with our new recruit in our first training session now."

Smirking, Kakashi watched as Genma sent him a scathing glare.

"Nonetheless, I am here on the grounds of a summoning order to ANBU headquarters. Please get dressed and meet me there. It appears that team assignments have been decided." At this, he turned and left them.

"I hate you so much," Genma groaned, rubbing at some particularly bad bruises.

Chuckling, Kakashi patted him on one of the bruises along his back. "Oh, the feeling is mutual."

Genma took his hand, letting the older man drag him to his feet. He sent one last glare before exiting the room to get ready. Sighing, Kakashi sat on his bed heavily. He shouldn't have had anything last night. He was feeling the effects of too much shochu. He grabbed his uniform from his closet, putting on each piece of equipment slowly. With a sharp heel kick into one of the floorboards, the opposite end popped up. He grabbed his mask from the hidden space and pulled it over his face. Forming the necessary hand signs, he disappeared.

* * *

Sakura groaned loudly. Her head was killing her. There was a horde of monsters in her head banging on everything in their path, she just knew it. Raising a hand to her head, she soothed her aching brain. Grabbing a glass of water, she drank it greedily. She made her way to her fridge, knowing that she had an electrolyte drink somewhere inside. She cheered in satisfaction as she found it, downing it just as quickly. Satisfied that her fluids would be fine, she made herself a plain bowl of oatmeal. When the pain in her head returned, she used her chakra to soothe it once more.

Satisfied that she would be relatively fine, she made her way to her shower. Scrubbing away the scent of alcohol and sweat, she sang softly. Humming, she got out of the shower. Reaching for a towel, she turned towards the door. Sakura shrieked at the sight of a man standing in the doorway. Covering up, she got ready to send the man flying. He held up his hands in what seemed to be peace, one hand pointing at his mask. She growled at ANBU agent Rabbit, still ready to beat him to a pulp.

"Haruno Sakura," she could just hear the amusement in his voice, "I am here to tell you that there is a meeting to announce squad placements at ANBU headquarters."

She swallowed her anger and bit back some choice words. " _Thank you for telling me_ ," she ground out, her eyes still narrowed and her face red.

He nodded once, turning to leave. Stopping, his head turned back to add one last thought. "I recommend wearing something a little less… _revealing_."

He was lucky that he had been forming the hand signs to leave before he'd said it. She screamed in frustration as he disappeared before her fist could make contact with his face.

Now in a thoroughly horrible mood, Sakura got ready for the meeting. Pulling on her crisp new ANBU uniform, she smiled softly. Her anger was easily washed away at the thought of her recent success. Gently toying with the mask in her lap, she brushed her hands over the smooth porcelain surface. Her fingers traced each red stripe, following the edge of the mask up to the curved ears. She slid it over her face greedily, inspecting herself in the mirror. In a way, she looked intimidating and yet also like a child.

She was small and thin, something that not even a scary mask could change. She felt like a little girl playing dress up. Frowning, she finishing wrapping her legs and did the signs Kakashi had shown them, feeling a weird pulling sensation in her gut as she appeared in ANBU headquarters.

Looking around, she adjusted her uniform nervously. The awkward feeling in her stomach hadn't quite left. She was hit with the realization that she likely would be put on a team with brand new people that she'd never met before. Sakura felt nauseous at this. She spotted the masks of her boys on the other side of the room, making her way through the crowd.

"Sakura—I mean Tiger!" Naruto called, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "I'm surprised that you weren't the first one here."

Laughing, she shook her head. "Ah, I ran into some trouble with my shower," she replied, her voice strained. Looking around suspiciously, she saw that Rabbit was indeed there, standing on the opposite side of the room. She smirked. He knew that he should be concerned about his own safety. This made her feel better.

She looked at her friends, sizing them up in their uniforms. Naruto and Sasuke looked spectacular. Intimidating and muscular, they filled out the uniforms in just the right ways. They looked natural with the dragon and lion masks on. They were in their element. Sai, too, looked natural in the uniform. He was much lankier and paler than the other two boys, however. He still looked scary in his owl mask. The hooked beak glinted in the dim light as he stood, silent. The cold appearance of ANBU suited his disposition.

She watched silently as the other recruits filed into the room. Within ten minutes, the whole of Konoha's ANBU forces were assembled in the large chamber. Ibiki entered from one of the four hallways and took his place in front of the crowd. Everyone straightened and slipped into neat rows. The hardened soldiers stared at the man, waiting for him to speak.

Clearing his throat, he gazed at the gathered black ops agents. "We have decided on team placements. There were two new teams created. I will start with these new teams. First, we have ANBU squad number four, led by Rabbit. The other members are Ram, Bear, and Crow." Pausing to let it sink in, he continued. "Next we have team number nine. Led by Cat, it will be comprised of Dragon," Sasuke stiffened, "Lion," Naruto bounced on his heels, giddy, "and Owl."

Sakura felt her blood run cold. It was just as she'd feared. She would be the one left out. She looked at her friends out of the corner of her eyes, watching Naruto's stiff shoulders. He was obviously upset.

Blinking away the tears she could feel forming, she focused back on Ibiki.

"Next, several teams will be getting one or two new additions. Team Five, led by Oni, will be receiving one new recruit. The other members are as follows: Hawk, Panda, and Fox." Sakura smiled. Ino, who was Fox, and Shikamaru, who was Hawk, would be on the same team. This did nothing to stop her anxiety. This just meant she was one step closer to being on a team with no members that she knew.

"Team Eighteen will be receiving one recruit, Mouse. This team is led by Ox. The other two members are Horse and Dog." Pausing, he moved on. "Team Twenty, led by Snake, will consist of Rat and two new recruits, Wolverine and Badger."

Ibiki's gaze found hers, but she could not discern any emotion as he relayed her fate. "The last addition, Tiger, will be to Team Thirteen. Led by Weasel, the team also consists of Wolf and Monkey. Each team with new additions will have the week to train together before new missions are assigned."

Sakura nearly cried at the news that she would be on Kakashi's team. She wasn't well acquainted with Genma or Itachi but had met them before so she wasn't super worried. She felt the breath she'd been holding leave her, a sigh of relief. She wasn't going to be on her own. Even with the series of odd interactions she'd been having with Kakashi the past month, she was just overwhelmingly happy to have a friend.

* * *

Kakashi stood with his team, watching the new recruits appear. He was bored out of his mind. He was hoping that he would receive one of his students on his team or none at all. Being the unlucky Team Thirteen, they had trouble keeping their last counterpart so they often were not assigned new recruits. Itachi had commented that he personally wanted one of the new recruits assigned to their team but did not specify which one. Kakashi assumed it was Sasuke. He did love to order his little brother around.

"I wonder who we'll get," Genma grinned, elbowing Kakashi in the ribs. Genma knew that Kakashi would not retaliate after this morning. Or, at least he wouldn't do it while Itachi was watching.

"Anyone's an improvement from you," Kakashi drawled, smirking as Genma's eyes narrowed.

Itachi simply ignored them, scanning the crowd. Kakashi noted that the man's gaze stopped at the group of students he'd spent a good chunk of his life teaching. Interesting.

Genma continued to ramble on about the potential additions. "I guess they could pull someone from a different team and put a newbie in their place… But I _really_ wouldn't mind having Haruno Sakura on the team. The things I would do to that girl…" Genma purred, his voice both silky and sensual.

Kakashi stomped on the man's foot so hard that he cried out. "Don't talk about her like that," he warned from beneath his mask, expression unreadable.

Kakashi couldn't explain the deep anger he felt at Genma's words. He chalked it up to Sakura's position as his only female student. He was just being protective of her. The age of consent was sixteen and she was far from being barely legal, but he still felt like she shouldn't be subjected to men in that way. Genma gave him a strange look but didn't seem to make much of his reaction. After Genma's comment, he was hoping that she wouldn't be selected for their team.

He listened half-heartedly as the team assignments were called out. When he heard his team mentioned, his whole body tensed. Kakashi's fists clenched and the unclenched. Tiger… that was Sakura's codename. He wasn't sure whether he should breathe a sigh of relief or if he should be worried. His dynamic with Sakura had shifted slightly in the last month. He wasn't quite sure where they were and she confused him. It didn't help that Genma's comment had reminded him of the very dirty book he'd read the previous night. He felt his face heat up at the thought of the things Jiraiya had written about in the novel. There was one particularly steamy scene in the hospital…

He shook his head, clearing it of the dirty thoughts that had managed to grab a hold of his consciousness. Genma was a bad influence, he decided. He wondered why he had decided to let them stay in his apartment. Or why he'd gotten an apartment big enough to accommodate them either.

He was happy that their newest member wasn't one of the weaker recruits. Sakura could hold her own and, moreover, as a medical shinobi, she was able to heal their injuries as well. With their sharingan, Itachi and Kakashi could do very simple fixes that were mostly crude and unreliable. Sakura was at the forefront of her field. She was incredibly accomplished.

He watched as she timidly made her way through the ranks of ANBU agents, her path getting easier as the majority of members dispersed. When she finally reached them, he found himself wondering what expression was hiding underneath the fearsome mask she wore.

"It is a pleasure to meet you formally, Tiger," Itachi spoke, his aristocracy evident in each carefully pronounced word. Sakura bowed before them deeply, wanting to make a good impression.

"I am honoured to serve on Squad Thirteen, Weasel-taichou."

Chuckling, Genma held out a hand casually. "No need to be so formal," he lifted his mask and sent her a smile. "We've met before, but I'll introduce myself again. Shiranui Genma, at your service." Kakashi rolled his eyes.

"It's good to have you, Sakura," Kakashi said as he patted her on the back, lifting his mask up as well.

"I was hoping that you wouldn't be wearing another mask under that one," Sakura said, laughing. " _Who does that_?"

Kakashi's eye closed as he chuckled. "I have poor circulation and as a result I get very cold, I'll have you know," he said as he pouted mockingly.

Itachi, too, slid the mask off, letting it hang around his neck. "I would like to begin training later today." At a lack of protest, he continued. "I have a loose plan to follow. Is there a time that is more convenient for anyone?"

He was met with silence.

"Ah, then I will book our training field for two o'clock. Please show Haruno-san to the field later, Kakashi." He turned to Sakura, bowing briefly. "Thank you for filling your position on the team. I look forward to working with you."

At this, he formed seals and disappeared.

"Erm, ok," she laughed nervously.

Genma laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. "Don't worry, he's kind of always like this."

Kakashi nodded in agreement. "Don't worry about it."

Nodding back, she responded with a chuckle. "Oh, I know. Try growing up with Uchiha Sasuke as your best friend. I've met the whole family. Having a stick stuck up their butts is hereditary, I think," she said, hiding her grin beneath the mask.

Laughing, Genma replaced the mask over his face. "You're pretty funny, Haruno."

"Ah, Sakura is fine."

He nodded. "Sakura-chan it is." He waved over his shoulder before turning down one of the large hallways out of the chamber.

Kakashi stared down at his pupil, wondering what she was thinking. "I'll take you to the storeroom, I guess."

She started and had to jog for a moment to catch up to him as he turned into the hall next to them. "Why?" She asked him curiously, cocking her head to the side.

"You need one of these," he said, tapping the katana on his back. He watched her out of the corner of his eye as she slid the mask up off of her face, her mouth forming a small 'o' in surprise.

"I have no training with a katana!" She protested quietly, her eyes frantic as she searched for reassurance.

He laughed.

"Most people don't, Sakura, and you _will_ have time to practice. It's not a requirement to be an expert in kenjutsu." She seemed to deflate after hearing this, the newfound tension in her body gone.

He was glad that she wasn't getting too worked up over everything. It was in her nature to want everything to be perfect. In ANBU, it was especially important that you executed everything perfectly, and her strict adherence to performing in the best way possible was a major reason why she was suited to being in the black ops forces. She could be trusted to carry out her task with efficiency and dedication which was something that not all ninja were good at. Shikamaru, for instance, was not the greatest at being both efficient and dedicated. An easier solution to a difficult problem would always be a priority to him.

They reached the storeroom quickly. Kakashi let out a low whistle at the line that had formed in front of the counter.

"It seems like everyone used the meeting as an excuse to finally replace missing gear from their kits," he said, taking a resigned step forward to stand in line.

Sakura groaned. "You don't have to stay, Kakashi. I can manage from here. I think."

Shaking his head, he sighed. "That's alright, Sakura. I need to show you where our training grounds are. So I'll stay here with you, if I'm not too boring as company."

She laughed at this, playfully punching his arm. "You're not exactly the most boring guy to spend time with—and you know it."

Giving her a quizzical look, he responded carefully. "I'm not sure what you mean, Sakura. I'm not exactly the most talkative guy around."

Standing on her toes to see the front of the line, she smiled softly, brushing the stray hairs that had fallen out of her face. "Yes, I suppose, but you talk to me, don't you? I guess you might seem boring to a lot of people, but to me, you're like a puzzle. I can never figure out what makes you tick. I like talking to you, it makes me feel like I'm one step closer to understanding you." She fiddled with her mask. "If that's not too weird."

Kakashi couldn't place the odd feeling in his gut. He couldn't understand her. Sakura was too good for this world, he decided. He didn't know what he'd done to deserve a girl like her in his life. He couldn't even remember the last time that someone had told him that they enjoyed talking to him. It was surreal.

"I'm flattered," he said, ruffling her hair affectionately. "But you're not exactly easy to figure out either. Frankly, your anger issues lead me to believe that you may be bipolar—" Sakura stomped on his foot angrily, unimpressed.

"Fuck you, Kakashi," she muttered, crossing her arms.

"Sorry, you'll have to buy me dinner first," he smiled, ducking a fist aimed for his face. She rolled her eyes, finally settling down. Sakura looked forward and nearly shrieked in happiness when she saw that they were at the front of the line.

"Go on," he said, pushing her forward. "I'll wait over there."

Nodding, she stepped forward. "Agent Tiger. I'm, uh, in need of a katana?" Her face coloured in embarrassment at her obvious lack of experience.

Luckily the man behind the counter was kind. "Ah, another new recruit. Do you know your ANBU ID number yet?"

Shaking her head, she said, "No, I'm afraid I haven't been told mine yet."

Nodding, he shrugged. "That's fine. I'll let you off the hook this time, huh? I'll sign it out under your real name instead."

"My name is—"

"I know, I know, Haruno-san. The pink hair really gives it away. You might want to consider changing it. Recognizable attributes in this field don't exactly fly with the job description."

Feeling her face flush, she nodded rapidly. "I'll be sure to do something about it!" She took the new katana from him eagerly, sliding it into place on her back. "Thank you so much! Erm, what was your name?"

"Jiro-san is fine with me," he smiled warmly, his aging skin brightening with the gesture.

"Thank you, Jiro-san!"

"See you next time, Haruno-san!"

Sakura turned, taking a few strides towards the back wall where Kakashi was waiting, an old copy of Icha Icha occupying his eyes. She stopped in her tracks when she came face to face with a rabbit mask.

"Hello, Sakura-chan," he purred, taking a step towards her.

"Fuck off, Arakido."

"Aw, Sakura-chan, call me Natsuo. You couldn't _possibly_ call me by something so distant after _this morning_ ," he slid his mask up, revealing cocky green eyes and a catlike smile. His hair was a dirty, sandy blonde, his skin radiant and clear. He was an overwhelmingly attractive man. Sakura, however, could not look past his glaringly atrocious personality.

" _Don't talk to me_ ," she growled, her eyes narrowing. " _I don't want anything to do with you_."

Undeterred, he slid a hand around her waist, moving in closer. He leaned forward, whispering softly in her ear. "That's not what I heard. See, I read an interesting little book last week. Seems like you showed your perky little breasts to your superiors on a regular basis, hmm? Is that what you like, Sakura-chan? Do you like being fucked by older men? I bet you let your sensei over there into your tight little pussy all the time."

His mocking ceased abruptly as a hand shot out, clamping down on the man's arm. "She _said_ that she didn't want you to talk to her, _Arakido-san_ ," Kakashi growled, his voice low and dangerous.

Letting her go, Natsuo backed off, holding his hands up in peace. "Ne, ne, alright. I'll talk to you later, _Sakura-chan_ ," he said, sending her a look as if to say " _I told you so."_

As soon as he was gone, Kakashi took off, storming down the corridor leading out of the storeroom.

He was absolutely livid. Why would Sakura sleep with that creep? He was notoriously a skirt chaser that had no qualms with harassing women. He'd always thought that Sakura had better judgement than that.

Jogging to catch up, she wheeled around in front of him.

"What the fuck is up with you, Kakashi?"

"Nothing." His face was a blank slate, not that she would see much of it anyways. His eyes were bored, dull.

"Nothing? I can handle myself, you know." Her eyes narrowed, sure that he was hiding something.

Scoffing, he rolled his single visible eye. "Yeah, well how was that working out for you? You were standing there like a terrified deer! I don't think you would've done anything at all. You were completely at his mercy." His eye quickly began to show his anger.

Her brows furrowed, eyes swelling with unshed tears. "Why are you mad at me about this?"

Laughing once, a quick chirp, he began to pace. "You know, it's really none of my business, but why would you sleep with him, of all people?"

Eyes widening in shock, she stared at him, silent. Her eyes quickly revealed her anger as she bit her lip, hard.

"You know, you're right. It is none of your business." She was cold, giving him a long, dark look.

"No 'thank you' at all? I guess you didn't really want to get away from him."

This time, the tears returned and didn't go away. "You're a _fucking idiot_."

"Oh, I am, am I? Pray tell, why am I the fucking idiot in this situation?"

She turned away, stomping down the corridor. She was sick of his judgement.

" _Because I'm a fucking virgin, you idiot_!"

Kakashi had royally fucked up.

* * *

Well, hope you guys enjoyed! I didn't really get to proofread it, so please point out any glaringly obvious mistakes. Thanks!


	10. the wonder of the wonderful

omg I am so sorry for not uploading. this chapter was like 80% done for like six months. I know I shouldn't make excuses but like I suffer from severe depression which also means that I regularly experience negative motivation for writing. I have been so busy with school and everything that I haven't written a word in months. I wrote a thousand tonight to finish it up. I added an extra bit at the end some kakasaku stuff just as a reward for waiting and being so patient with me!

I appreciate your reviews so much! I hope you enjoy!

* * *

Sakura was visibly ticked off when she arrived to their specified training ground. She had specifically looked for Genma to ask where it was, not wanting any contact with her ex-sensei. It seemed that the more they interacted, the more they fought. Sakura wasn't sure if their personalities just clashed too much or if it was their history. She resented him sometimes for brushing her off as a young genin. She knew it was mostly her fault: she'd spent more time trying to be a little girl than a kunoichi. But she couldn't help but wonder how much more she could have become at an earlier age if he'd just _tried_.

So maybe there _was_ some resentment there, too.

Genma just seemed glad that her anger wasn't directed at him. He'd heard horror stories of her tantrums and was not inclined to put himself in the way of one. She was noticeably restraining her anger in front of them for the sake of the training session. She greeted everyone curtly, closing her eyes briefly and took one gigantic breath to steady her emotions.

If Itachi noticed, he didn't mention it. He simply greeted her cordially and began to stretch, his lithe form contorting as he warmed up each muscle methodically. Sakura's gaze followed him, impressed with the extent to which he took care of his body. He always looked very tired so she had assumed that he didn't take very good care of himself. Now she knew that this was not the case.

Sakura sat herself on the hard ground gingerly, her legs stretched out in front of her. She purposefully ignored Kakashi's pitiful glances her way and began to do similar poses to that of Itachi's. She sighed contently as she slid into a particularly difficult pose, feeling her muscles pull at the strain. She stretched for several minutes, holding each pose for thirty seconds. She was glad that she hadn't donned her ANBU uniform and had instead opted for a pair of the standard jounin pants and a baby doll t-shirt. Her hair was tied into a high pony-tail on the top of her head and she was determined to make a good impression on her teammates.

Itachi seemed to eye each of them up before he halted his extensive stretching. "Kakashi-san has notified me that you are inexperienced with kenjutsu, Haruno-san," he said, his grey eyes meeting hers.

"Ah, hai, Uchiha-taichou," she murmured, her cheeks faintly pink.

A small smile graced his lips before he continued. "Do not worry about it. I had expected this beforehand. Most recruits are not familiar with weapons other than standard issue kunai, shuriken, and senbon."

Nodding, Sakura was reassured further when Genma gave her an encouraging smile.

"We will not begin kenjutsu until tomorrow morning. I have booked this field for six o'clock until noon, and then again from two until eight," he continued, his hands reaching behind his head to secure his long, dark tresses in an elastic. "For today, I would like each of us to spend time sparring with Haruno-san for the first hour. Then we will split into teams to spar, and I will switch the partnerships up frequently. I would like to get a feel for your individual skill, Haruno-san, as well as how you fit into the group. From there, we will be training twelve hours daily until our first mission is assigned. It will likely be an uneventful mission to test the waters, so to speak, but I want us to move as a cohesive unit."

"Hai, Taichou," she nodded, gulping. She regularly worked sixteen hour days when she had been training with Tsunade, and she was sure that there wasn't a single person that could push her harder than the Fifth Hokage. Sakura sometimes had nightmares of the week she'd learned how to repair bones. Tsunade had given her a small warning _("Now, Sakura, the best way to learn how to do this is to do it on yourself."_ ) before she'd broken her shin bones with one kick. Despite the rough training she'd already survived, Sakura was still nervous about what was to come.

"Aa… please spar with Kakashi-san first," Itachi instructed.

Sakura turned to face the silver-haired man to hide her dissatisfaction from Itachi. Kakashi gave her a guilty look, his gaze downcast. This only served to annoy her further. She just wanted to forget about it. It was bad enough being one of the only virgins she knew, but to have to admit it to Kakashi? She was just so incredibly angry and embarrassed. She kept feeling like she was taking one step forward with him and then taking two steps back. They were starting to become closer lately, yet there was always something between them.

Sakura didn't wait for him to ready himself when she struck at him. In a flash, she was behind him. Her leg came down towards him like an axe, her hands forming seals. He was gone before her leg could contact his back, her foot sending a crack through the ground as she planted it firmly. She pivoted, her hands finishing the long string of seals in a blur. As he came at her with a kunai, she parried with a single senbon needle. She looked him in the eye, her eyes brightening as she saw his confusion. He dropped the kunai, drawing his hand back with a hiss. He looked down to find six more senbon in his hand, hitting enough pressure points to disable its usage.

She smirked, sending another kick at him. He bent over backwards to dodge, realizing that she had cast a genjutsu on the six senbon to make them appear as just one. While she had parried the kunai, she had sent the remaining senbon into the hand to disable it. It was smart thinking, but he expected nothing less. He reached up to reveal his sharingan, knowing that he would need it.

She pressed, keeping him on his toes. He spent most of his time avoiding her blows, only managing to sneak in a few to match. It was starting to frustrate him. Kakashi needed to get himself on the offensive instead of spending his time avoiding her blows. He was proud that her speed rivalled his at this point, but it made him feel old.

Sakura smiled triumphantly as she jumped above him, entwining her legs around his head. She bent backwards, stretching her arms out to touch the ground. She adhered her hands with chakra to provide leverage and finished her backflip by smashing him into the ground. Kakashi wasn't so easily beaten, however. He'd used a substitution jutsu and was now behind her. Sakura had to leap away to avoid her ex-sensei's barrage of quick jabs with a kunai. He was clearly avoiding the use of his damaged hand, but with most shinobi being ambidextrous, it wasn't stopping him.

They locked eyes as they traded blows, Kakashi's speed increasing as they fought for dominance. The cacophony of steel on steel resounded throughout the clearing. As they fought, the world around them seemed to slip away, the noise of battle disappearing until the sound of their harsh breathing was the only thing permeating their trance. There were many that believed that the truest way to speak to another was through the exchanging of blows on the battlefield. In this moment, Sakura could believe it. She knew that he was sorry, that he was trying to protect her. His eyes seemed to beg her for forgiveness.

Kakashi tried to ignore the hurt that was radiating off Sakura as he struggled to get the upper hand. She was clearly still a little upset at his actions earlier that day. He couldn't really blame her. But as time crept onwards, he felt the anger dissipate, and he saw her eyes soften. There was something she was trying to convey in her gaze as she attempted to bury a kunai in his gut. All he wanted was to stop upsetting her all the time. It had felt like they were becoming closer. But he kept screwing it up.

Sakura's kunai went flying, landing quite far away from her. Before she could react, Kakashi had swept her feet out from under her. He pinned her to the ground, a kunai at her throat. He watched her heaving chest as she took in ragged breaths. His own lungs were struggling to take in the desperately needed oxygen, sweat beading down what little skin was visible.

"Good match, Sakura," he croaked, flipping onto his back to lay beside her.

She laughed, her voice ringing as clear as he remembered. "I haven't had a spar that good in a long time," she conceded, smiling. Kakashi found himself smiling back.

Sitting up, Sakura wiped the sweat from her brow and looked at Itachi. He hadn't been sparring himself, so he was sitting on the ground a distance away with Genma, watching. She dragged herself to her feet and made her way over, her face flush with the physical exertion.

Itachi nodded at her. "I am impressed with your taijutsu, Haruno-san," he said, his voice calm and steady. "It is nothing less than I expected."

Sakura found herself beaming with the praise. "Thank you, Taichou," she said.

"I know that it is your specialty, along with medical ninjutsu," he smiled softly as he spoke. "And I understand that your ninjutsu is of adequate level as well, although you prefer not to use it due to your chakra stores being of average size."

"Hai. My chakra is better conserved for healing."

"For now, we will split up into partners to attack. Your familiarity with Kakashi-san is an asset to our team. I would like to see how well you work with each member of the team and how you perform in group oriented battles. From there, I will determine your position in our formations and attack patterns."

Sakura nodded. It made perfect sense. Each member of the team was clearly talented in all aspects of being a ninja, and they were well equipped to make changes to their strategies to suit their newest teammate.

"Please join Genma-san for the first round," Itachi said, nodding to Sakura.

Genma sent Sakura a cheeky grin. "Oh, we are going to crush them," he said, laughing.

Sakura laughed in response, bumping fists with the man.

"You know it."

* * *

Sakura was exhausted by the time they finished the last spar. Itachi dismissed them at six o'clock, reminding them to come back for six in the morning the next day. All she wanted was to crawl into bed and sleep, but she needed to shower and pick up something to eat, and the hospital was closer than her house. Kakashi joined her as she began walking back, his footsteps matching her slower than usual pace. He was quiet, sending her small glances every now and then, but ultimately keeping to himself.

"I'm sorry, you know," he murmured, looking up through the canopy of trees to the dying daylight.

"I know."

"Mhm."

Sakura was content to keep walking in silence. She couldn't stay mad at the man. She knew that she was quick to anger, but her fire was also quick to burn out, and she was never one to hold a grudge.

Sakura glanced at his silhouette as he walked slightly in front of her, her gaze focusing in on the hand she'd disabled. As their training session progressed, he had been able to start using it in a limited manner and she had forgotten to heal it. It was twitching and having small spasms as he walked. His body was attempting to bypass the pressure point blockages.

"Give me your hand, Kakashi," she said, her own hand outstretched.

He started, his eyes betraying his confusion. "What?"

Rolling her eyes, she repeated the request. "Your hand, Kakashi. I need to fix what I did to it."

His body softened in realization and he put his hand on top of hers, watching as the green glow of her chakra enveloped both her hands and his. The uncomfortable, painful tightness in his hand began to melt away as his attempts to move his digits proved more and more successful. Sakura let the soft glow of her chakra fade away and gave him a small smile.

"Sorry about that. I just figured that I had to disable one of your hands to win. I needed some sort of advantage." Sakura grinned, pulling her hands away.

Kakashi tested his hand out with a few stretches of his fingers before responding to her apology. "I thought it was really clever, Sakura. Did you think of that genjutsu yourself?"

Sakura shook her head. "Ah, no, I adapted it from someone I fought last year on a mission. He was good at incorporating it in different ways. I almost lost to him, actually. He disabled most of my body's pressure points and it was only my medical ninjutsu that saved me. I couldn't use my arms and I had to unblock points by guiding the chakra to each spot from within my body. The technique is incredibly hard to fight against especially when you consider how educated he was on pressure points."

Kakashi nodded, continuing their trek once more. "Maa, you make it look so easy, Sakura. I don't know how you do it."

Sakura burst out laughing, giving him an incredulous look. "You of all people should _not_ be saying that! God, Kakashi, everything you do looks effortless! I can't remember the last time it looked like you were struggling," she said, a cheeky grin plastered on her face.

Kakashi chuckled, his deep baritone rumbling. "Aa, I guess you're right. Trust me, Sakura, I do struggle now and again."

"Sure, sure…"

At this, they fell into a comfortable silence. Their footsteps created no noise as they padded towards the village, the breeze whispering in their ears.

When they reached the edge of civilization, Sakura turned towards the main road that led to the hospital. "I'll see you tomorrow, _sensei_ ," she said, smiling softly.

"Ah," he waved, eye crinkling in a smile. "See you tomorrow."

Turning, she made her way through the bustling streets of Konoha, housewives buzzing in and out of shops to grab ingredients for dinner. She took deep breaths in through her nose, basking in the scents wafting through the network of streets. She could smell the distinct aromas from each shop, the mouth-watering umeboshi attracting her attention as she continued towards the hospital. It wasn't long before her stomach began to growl increasingly louder as she walked.

She quickly arrived at the hospital and made her way into her office. She was relieved that she still had the spare set of clothes tucked away in the closet that she kept there for emergencies. There was an attached bathroom to her office with a tiny shower that she was thankful for every day. Once she was clean, she pulled on the yellow, flowery blouse and the denim skirt that she had left there. Running a hand through her damp hair, she sighed. She was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to drop like a stone. Humming to keep herself awake, she exited her office and locked up. She was startled to find Hikaru waiting outside of her office with a sheepish grin.

"I noticed that the lights were on," he admitted, watching her closely.

"It's really nice to see you, Hikaru-kun," she said. Sakura returned his smile and noticed that he, too, was dressed in civilian garb.

Nodding, he ran a hand through his hair. "Listen," he started. "I really, really like you, Sakura-chan." There was a pause where he let out an embarrassed cough, a pink tone on his cheeks. "Would you like to have dinner with me?"

Sakura's eyes widened in shock. She hadn't been expecting this. She did, however, notice the odd giddy feeling in her stomach at the thought of being asked out on a date. She'd never been on a date before. Sakura couldn't help but flush in response to his obvious affection. "I-I would love to, Hikaru-kun," she smiled softly, pushing away her exhaustion.

He seemed relieved, his eyes lighting up in excitement. "Are you ready to go then? I can wait if you need me to, of course."

Sakura shook her head, stepping in closer. She took him by the arm and gestured for him to lead the way, her eyes never leaving his face. He was a good-looking man. His features were soft, slightly feminine, and his eyes were bright. He was taller than her, but not by much, and he had a bubbly, happy aura whenever she saw him. She wasn't sure what he had seen in her but she was intensely glad that he'd seen something. She could imagine herself falling in love with such a nice man, letting him be the first to touch her. He shared the same interests as her, and he was intelligent as well.

Hikaru noticed her staring and scrunched his face in confusion. "Is there something on my face?" His voice revealed his concern, a hand already travelling up to wipe off the imaginary dirt.

Sakura laughed, shaking her head. "No, no," she said, eyes filled with mirth. "I was just admiring you. You're a handsome man, you know that, right?"

The tips of his ears turned pink with embarrassment. "It's been a while since I've heard that, I'll admit."

Sakura finally let her gaze drift away, the lazy smile still etched onto her face. "This is my first date."

Hikaru tried very hard to hide his shock, but it poured out of him in waves nonetheless. "I can't believe that, Sakura-chan. You're such a catch!" She laughed as he shook his head in amazement.

It felt good to talk so freely with someone. She was curious about him and wanted to learn more.

"Have you had a girlfriend before, then?" She asked, admiring the bustling crowds of people swarming through the village.

He nodded solemnly. "Ah, yes. We were together for two years before she broke things off with me," he frowned, brows pulled downwards as he frowned.

She immediately felt guilty for bringing it up. "Ah, I shouldn't have asked, sorry!"

Hikaru simply shook his head, smiling softly at the sky. "I've gotten over it, I think. She told me that she didn't think that I was the one, and I was so angry and hurt when she ended things, but I think I understand now. She wasn't the one for me either, and I can't blame her for realizing it before I did."

"That's very mature of you, Hikaru-kun," she murmured, slipping her hand into his gingerly. He seemed glad to have the affection and returned it with a little squeeze. She felt a little tingle of excitement in her stomach as she talked with him.

He was something so intensely new that she could feel herself falling under his spell. She had a crush. She bit her lip in nervousness as he watched her, his face so incredibly dynamic as he spoke. He told her about his three older siblings, how his parents were simple chunin that worked at the Academy, and how he'd had a little crush on her for quite a while. It pulled at her heartstrings to listen to such happy memories of a perfect family, but she genuinely enjoyed listening to him talk. When he'd mentioned his crush, her cheeks had flushed and she'd whispered a nervous "I like you, too," back to him.

He seemed to be much more comfortable around her after having interacted with her so much recently. He was bolder, more confident in himself. She figured that he would have had to have gone on plenty of dinner dates if he'd dated a woman for two years. Sakura's gut twisted as she thought of it. He was much more experienced just by dating standards. She couldn't imagine that they wouldn't have done anything else in that time, too.

She murmured her approval as they entered a simple but nice restaurant. She wasn't underdressed, but he hadn't just taken her out for barbecue either. The waitress sauntered over, her hips swaying in figure eights as she smiled widely at the two. She briefly eyed Hikaru up, her eyes glancing up and down in mild approval before she spoke. "Welcome! Just the two of you tonight?" She was wearing heavy makeup with lips painted a dark red. Her clothes were tight and a dip in her shirt revealed already ample cleavage straining to escape a push-up bra. Her skirt left her legs almost completely bare and her honey blonde hair curled down her back in soft ringlets.

"Yes, please," Hikaru smiled warmly, his eyes purposefully looking away from her voluptuous body.

She nodded, the large smile still plastered on her face as she gestured for them to follow her. Seating them at a booth near the window, she took their orders for drinks and left them to peruse the menu. Sakura's insistence on only water earned her an odd look, but after the exercise she'd been through, she needed it.

Hikaru asked her about her day, and didn't pry when the subject of her family came up. She'd told him briefly of her mother and brother, and that her dad was no longer alive. Sakura admitted that she hadn't seen her mother and brother in a long time as they lived out of town, but it didn't seem to faze him. Sakura enjoyed being able to talk to someone that she hadn't known since she was eight. She found herself hanging onto every word he said and was fascinated by his research in the hospital. They discussed their jobs in the hospital at great length and the time seemed to disappear.

Sakura soon realized that it was getting late and she needed to get home.

Yawning, Sakura asked if he was ready to leave. Hikaru insisted on walking her home, his hand slipping into hers as they made their way across the village. Sakura felt the familiar butterflies in her stomach and was absolutely giddy with happiness. As they arrived at her place, Sakura turned to look at him.

"I had such a good time tonight, Hikaru-kun," she murmured, suddenly shy about her affection for the man.

He smiled softly at her, a blush staining his cheeks. He seemed to steel himself before speaking. "Listen, Sakura-chan. Like I said earlier, I really, _really_ like you. Tonight hasn't changed anything. I want you to know that, if anything, tonight's made me like you even more. I know this is a little fast, and I might be reaching for something you're not interested in, but…" He cleared his throat once before continuing. "Well, I—uh, will you be my girlfriend, Sakura?"

Surprised, Sakura was speechless for a moment. She really liked him, too. She hadn't felt this good about herself in such a long time that she couldn't see any reason not to say yes. Realising that she was about to have her first boyfriend sent shivers down her spine. A blush crowded her features and she nodded quickly, giving him a small, shy smile.

His face glowed with happiness as he pressed her against him in a hug. She was reminded briefly of her encounter with Kakashi at the hospital, but this hug felt different. It was warm, full of happiness. Not the desperate, comfort-filled hug she'd been given at such a low point. As he pulled back, his arms slid down to her lower back. He made eye contact with her, the smile still lighting his face up. He leaned his head in towards hers and pressed his lips delicately upon her own. She found her arms wrapping themselves around his neck as they deepened the kiss. Her stomach fluttered in excitement and she marvelled at the intense feelings he brought up from within her.

It felt like they were there forever and like it was over too quickly at the same time. He pulled away for air, slowly releasing her from his embrace. He smiled at her surprised appearance, squeezing her hand softly before stepping away. "Good night, Sakura."

"G-good night," she whispered, still stunned.

She watched him leave, her eyes following him as he slowly disappeared. She quickly opened the door and escaped within, rushing into her apartment. She couldn't stop the influx of emotions bubbling from within her stomach. She felt the familiar tug of fear but it was pushed down with the overwhelming flow of excitement and happiness. She was incredibly exhausted, however, and found herself crawling into bed. It took her more time than usual to settle into a relaxed state. Sakura's limbs would not stop squirming with the excitement of the day. She soon found herself slipping into sleep, her body's intense exertion finally catching up with her.

She did not dream that night.

* * *

The next day was so physically exhausting that Sakura began to seriously regret her career path. She felt like she was going through Tsunade's boot-camp all over again. She admitted to herself that she was out of shape to a certain extent, but she was not prepared for the relentless training that Itachi had planned for them. He spent the entire morning focusing on her and he had dedicated it to teaching her kenjutsu. Once she had the basics down, he had instructed her on the various formations and ways to incorporate the kenjutsu into them and they had practiced them repeatedly for her benefit. Sakura appreciated the extent to which he had gone for her and the methodology he had used. It was a lot easier for her to learn when he placed her in practical situations where the kenjutsu would actually come into play. Occasionally, she heard him reprimanding Kakashi or Genma for their laziness with the katana and how they were due for this practice as well.

After their short break for lunch, they resumed with their formation and battle tactics. Itachi would quiz her periodically and was pleased with her rapid grasp of their strategies. By eight o'clock, they were completely decimated, their eyes droopy and their movements lax. Sakura groaned from her place on the ground, an arm coming up to wipe the thick layer of sweat from her brow.

Itachi had just dismissed them and was already gone. Sakura wondered if her boys were just finishing up training, too. She looked up as a shadow fell over her to find Genma grinning down at her. He handed her the water bottle that she had brought and she greedily drained it. "Thank you," she groaned, smiling gratefully at him.

"Yeah, yeah, I thought you needed some." He looked at the rapidly disappearing form of Kakashi and began to turn away. Pausing, he looked back down at her. "Listen, we're getting takeout at Kakashi's later… I think you should come. You're a part of the team now, and you should be included in what the team does." He smiled down at her sheepishly. "Ah, Kakashi lives in the fancy apartments near that new café. Unit three-eleven, I think. Come around nine, if you want," he said, waving over his shoulder as he turned to leave.

Sakura sat up, grateful that he was putting some effort into their friendship. "I'll be there! Thanks!" she called, a sudden newfound motivation igniting her to stand up.

Once again, it was quicker to shower at the hospital. Sakura made her way to her office quickly. She was disappointed to find only a pair of cut-off yoga pants that stopped just below the knee and a black tank top with spaghetti straps. She relented that at least she had one more outfit in her office and was glad to find something other than her sweat-soaked clothing to wear. She pulled her hair into a messy bun on top of her head and was slightly disappointed when Hikaru wasn't waiting outside of her office.

She sighed and left, realizing that it was almost nine. She formed the seals that were, at this point, second nature to her and teleported to the café, appearing in a cloud of smoke and leaves. Across from the café was a beautiful apartment building that she had briefly entertained the thought of renting from before her logic won out. The units were far too big for her to justify. She was by herself and single, and the units themselves were pricey. Sakura would have been lying if she'd said she wasn't surprised to find that Kakashi lived here. The last unit he had had was even smaller than hers. He had lived in a single room with the kitchen built on one wall and a miniscule bathroom crammed into a room the size of a closet, and she was incredibly confused that he had upgraded to such a luxurious place. She decided to enter the apartment in the civilian manner, having never been there before.

Sakura climbed the three flights of stairs, admiring the crisp white walls and the silver trim and mouldings. At last she arrived at the unit that Genma had supplied, nervously checking that it did say 'three-eleven' before she knocked on the door.

The door opened only for her to come face to face with an entirely naked chest. She blinked once. An incredibly broad, muscular chest. Her eyes roved downwards, following his impeccably sculpted pectorals down to a six-pack framed by impressive oblique muscles. Her gaze fell to the deep 'V' line running into the waistband of his pants. He was in a pair of simple grey joggers and his feet were bare. She jumped as a cough brought her out of her daydreaming, her face immediately flushing. She looked up to find the most attractive face she had ever laid eyes on staring at her with the smallest smile.

His jaw was long, masculine, and sharp. He had the smallest beauty mark along his jaw on the left side of his face. A long vertical scar ran along his left eye and was the only imperfection on the smooth skin of his face. His long, silver hair was droopy with moisture and she heard herself suck in a breath. She felt herself drool a little and quickly wiped her mouth, remembering to close it in the process.

"I-I'm sorry, I think I have the wrong place," she stammered, turning away with embarrassment.

She froze as an arm shot out and grasped her gently at the elbow. "Sakura," he said, a trace of amusement in his voice. "Where are you going?"

Sakura turned back, slowly. _It can't be…_ She was both horrified and outraged to find that it was Kakashi staring back at her. " _Kakashi?!_ " she squeaked.

He laughed, pulling her into his apartment.

"Aa, the one and only."

* * *

I love you guys so much and once again I am so sorry for the wait! I can't promise more frequent updates but I will really try! Next chapter will continue where we left off! ;)


End file.
